Cranberry salad brings holiday cheer

Temple resident Hilde Cort shared her favorite holiday recipe with Tex Appeal.

This delicious cranberry salad has been a favorite of ours for about 20 years. My mother-in-law gave me the recipe after she moved here from California.

After I served it for my family’s Christmas dinner that first year, I got special requests to bring it to all of our holiday gatherings, including Thanksgiving. This year for Thanksgiving, it headed to Georgetown to my niece’s family gathering.

I also started taking it to my club’s Christmas get-togethers, and I end up getting requests for the recipe. Everyone just loves it!

The first time I made the recipe, I headed to the grocery store for the ingredients. The store had no fresh or frozen cranberries. I was so upset and talked to the produce manager about it. He said, “Why don’t you use a can of whole berry cranberry sauce?”

I explained that it only called for fresh or frozen and not canned. I never knew how to substitute, so this threw me for a loop!

If you can’t find fresh or frozen, you can use one 16 ounce can of whole berry cranberry sauce. It works just fine.

Hilde’s Cranberry Salad

1 3-ounce box lemon flavored gelatin
1 3-ounce box cherry flavored gelatin
2 cups boiling water
2 cups sugar
1 20-ounce can crushed pineapple (do not drain)
2 apples peeled and diced (I like the red tart ones)
1 12-ounce bag fresh or frozen cranberries, chopped
1 cup chopped pecans

Dissolve gelatins in water.
Add sugar; stir until dissolved.
Stir in pineapple.
Chill until thickened.
Add remaining ingredients; chill until firm.
Serve chilled.
Makes 15 servings.