I’m a sucker for cranberries and love using them in all aspects of cooking and drinking this time of year. After making these fun ice cubes to spice up my New Year’s Eve Champagne, I am hooked and will most likely become one of those crazy ice cube ladies we all see on Instagram. You have been warned. Ha!
I’m not one to stay up till midnight and really haven’t been for a long time. While I am not a big resolutions gal, I am a big believer in your year will play out the way you start it. That being said, I try to head to bed at a reasonable hour and wake up rested and ready to start a new day and a new year. Even with the rest I think we all know that I will not be skipping cocktail hour and tend to enjoy a glass or two of champagne on New Year’s Eve.
After a move from the East Coast, a new baby and a hectic holiday season for work I am finally starting to feel like myself again. It is perfect timing because my garden is wrapping up its first harvest and we are getting ready to start the main event here in Hawaii. I pulled the last of my rosemary from outside and have been toying around with creative ways to use what we don’t dehydrate and store. I love that rosemary is a great addition to holiday drinks and cooking so we will be using it a lot this week; starting with these ice cubes!
These ice cubes will be a fun way to jazz up your champagne, or really any simple drink this season. It is a simple luxury to make sipping your drink a little more special. These would be great to serve at a holiday party, brunch or just for fun at home. They take very little to make and can be made with almost any size ice cube tray. I used a larger cube for these to fit full sized orange slices, but you can always cut down the orange for a smaller tray. The ingredients needed for these specific ice cubes are: orange slices, cranberries, rosemary and water.
To make these specialty ice cubes start with placing your ice cube tray on a small sheet pan. I do this to make transporting to, and storing in, the freezer easier and less messy. Start by placing an orange slice in each cube. I like that these slices were a little too big for the mold and needed folded over. Will make for a little extra something to look at when they are finished. Next, add a few cranberries. Don’t go crazy here, but at least 3 per cube. I added about six for this set. Finally add in a sprig or two of rosemary. I added one sprig cut in half from thin stems of our garden’s harvest. Finally, add in your water and leave a little room at the top. Remember that ice expands when frozen so the ice cubes will get be bigger than what they look like now.
Place your ice cube tray in the freezer and let sit overnight. I always get tempted to take them out after a few hours, but trust me to wait till the next day and give them the whole night to freeze. The bigger cubes, especially, need the time to set and pulling them out early will ruin your efforts. When you are ready to serve make sure to place cubes in a clear glass to showcase the beauty and fun of these ice cubes.
Looking for some variations that will still be fun and in the holiday spirit? Add juice instead of water, like orange or cranberry. This will bring more color to your clear drinks AND more flavor. Other ingredients to use could be pomegranate seeds, mint and cucumber, edible flowers, lemon slices and more! If you try our recipe or another version, make sure to tag us on social media to join in on the fun!
We hope you enjoy this idea for making your next event, meal or cocktail a little more fun. As always, thank you for reading and joining us on this journey. Simply, Beth