Non-alcoholic Christmas punch with cranberry
Prep: 10 min · Makes: 10 glasses · For:
A big bowl of ruby-red punch makes any Christmas gathering feel special. This one is completely alcohol-free, so everyone from the toddler to Grandma can have a glass, and it looks beautiful with floating orange slices, cranberries and sprigs of rosemary like little Christmas trees.
It takes ten minutes to make and there is no cooking at all.
Tips
- Ice cubes with a surprise: freeze cranberries and small rosemary sprigs in ice cube trays the day before.
- Keep it cold: stand the bowl on a tray of ice, or use frozen cranberries instead of some of the ice so the punch does not get watered down.
- Child-friendly cups: use sturdy tumblers for the little ones.
Variations
- Warm winter punch: heat cranberry and apple juice with a cinnamon stick, cloves and orange slices. Do not add the fizz.
- Apple and ginger: cloudy apple juice with ginger ale and lime.
Little helpers
Children can drop in the cranberries and rosemary, make sugar rims on the glasses and give the punch a gentle stir.
Ingredients
- 4 cups cranberry juice, chilled
- 2 cups fresh orange juice, chilled
- 4 cups sparkling water or ginger ale, chilled
- juice of 1 lime
- 1 orange, thinly sliced
- a handful of fresh or frozen cranberries
- 4 sprigs of rosemary
- 1 pomegranate (optional)
- lots of ice
- For a sugar rim: 2 tbsp sugar and a lime wedge
Method
- Chill all the juices and the fizzy water for a few hours, so you need less ice and the punch stays fizzy longer.
- In a large bowl or pitcher, mix the cranberry juice, orange juice and lime juice.
- Add the orange slices, cranberries and rosemary. You can do this up to 2 hours ahead and keep it in the fridge.
- For a sugar rim: run a lime wedge around the rims of the glasses and dip them in a saucer of sugar.
- Just before serving, pour in the sparkling water or ginger ale and stir gently once.
- Put ice and a few pomegranate seeds in each glass and ladle or pour in the punch, with a slice of orange and a cranberry or two.
Questions
Can I make it ahead?
Mix the juices, fruit and rosemary up to 2 hours ahead. Add the fizz only at the very last minute so it stays bubbly.
How do I make it less sweet?
Use unsweetened or light cranberry juice and plain sparkling water instead of ginger ale, and add an extra squeeze of lime.
Can I make a grown-up version?
The adults can top up their own glass with a little sparkling wine. Keep the bowl itself alcohol-free so the children can help themselves safely.
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