Candied Cranberry Squash

2 cups fresh cranberries
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
3 medium size Acorn Squash
Hot water
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 cup light corn syrup

Wash cranberries and remove any stems, leaves, or bad berries. (If you use frozen berries then do not defrost.) Prick each berry twice with a pin. In a medium pot, mix 1 cup of sugar and water then boil over a high heat. Cook until the syrup spins a thread when dropped from a fork or spoon. (Just like making lollipops.)

Add cranberries and simmer 20 minutes or until syrup jells when dropped from the tip of a spoon. Remove the berries with a slotted spoon and place them on a cookie sheet covered with a sheet of waxed paper. Separate the berries while they cool to room temperature. Roll the cool berries one at a time in the extra sugar until the berries are well coated and then put these aside for later.

Preheat oven to 375*. Scrub the outside of squash and cut each in half lengthwise. Remove and discard seeds and stringy fibers. Arrange with cut side down in a shallow baking pan. Pour enough hot water into the pan around the squash until the water is 1/2 inch deep. Bake for 30 minutes.

Put butter, lemon juice, cinnamon, salt, ginger and corn syrup in a small bowl. Stir this well until you have a smooth mixture. Remove the squash from oven. Pour off any liquid and discard it. Turn squash to cut side up and leave in baking pan.

Spoon the butter syrup into each squash. Return the squash to the oven and bake 15 minutes more, basting frequently with the butter sauce until the squash is tender when pierced with the tines of a fork.

Remove squash from the oven and place on a large serving platter. Fill the inside of the squash with the candied cranberries. By this time the cranberries should have a crunchy, sugary coating. Serve immediately.

6 servings