Thanksgiving Dip: Cranberry-Orange Cream Cheese Dip

Thanksgiving is a time of feast and plenty, so there should be no doubt that dips have made their way into the holidays as well. My family has a big gathering at Thanksgiving and during Christmas and we like to take this opportunity to showcase any new recipes that have been experimented with during the year. A tangy and slightly sweet dip that my daughter and I came up with a few years ago is a cream cheese dip accented with real cranberries and orange juice.

Take one package of cream cheese (I always use Philadelphia) and mash it around it a medium sized bowl until it becomes soft. Slowly fold in three to four tablespoons of fresh orange juice. You can use orange juice from the carton or freshly squeezed from the fruit if you prefer. My daughter doesn't like the texture of using orange juice with pulp so I always use Tropicana with no pulp. Now that we have a nice and fluffy bed for the cranberries, they are slowly tucked into the cream cheese mixture.

Put the mixture into the refrigerator any time that you are not actively working on it to prevent it from becoming soupy. If the orange juice starts to separate from sitting in the fridge simply give it a quick stir before you present it to the table. If you have added too much orange juice the mixture can be thickened by adding a little more cream cheese.

If you have lots to do on Thanksgiving Day you can save a little time by making this easy and tasty dip the night before. Cover it with plastic wrap and take it out of the refrigerator right before you serve it.

This Thanksgiving Day dip is best served with crackers: graham crackers or butter crackers, pretzels, apple slices, or almost any kind of fruit or vegetable that your family has in hand and enjoys When I serve this dip I always place the cream cheese mixture into a small and decorative serving bowl and then place the bowl on the middle of a large plate with the apple slices, pretzel sticks and crackers presented around the bowl. You can get fancy with the garnishes and use any extra cranberries or cranberry pieces with some orange slices to add a splash of Thanksgiving color to your holiday dip.

Any recipe can be served for Thanksgiving or Christmas as long as its a favorite of your family. Start a new tradition and don't be afraid to serve something a little different during the holiday season.