How to Make Mini Watermelon Cups with Cranberry Mascarpone for the holiday season. This healthy fruit recipe can be served as an appetizer or snack.
This recipe puts a fun spin on watermelon. Think outside the box when it comes to appetizers. These watermelon cups are filled with Cranberry Mascarpone and garnished to perfection!
This is a sponsored post for the National Watermelon Promotion Board. All opinions are my own, as always. Thanks to all the companies, and readers, who help support Cravings of a Lunatic.
These Watermelon Cups with Cranberry Mascarpone are incredibly tasty, not to mention they look so pretty on any holiday platter. I love everything about this recipe.
To be honest, when I was approached to create a recipe I was thrilled. I'm a huge watermelon fanatic. In fact, I eat watermelon, and all fruit, year round. I'm not going to let anything stand between me and my favourite fruit.
My challenge was to develop an appetizer with a holiday spin. Challenge accepted!
I wanted to make something unique that screamed "holidays". It was important to me to take watermelon out of the "summer fruit" category and place it up on a pedestal for the holiday season. I feel like watermelon gets put in a corner in the winter. And nobody puts watermelon in a corner.
These went over incredibly well with everyone here. People were popping watermelon cups with cranberry mascarpone into the mouths at rapid speed. I'm not going to lie, that made me incredibly happy. It was a hit with all our guests.
Ingredients for Watermelon Cups
- Seedless watermelon: Use the mini ones, not the full size ones.
- Fresh Cranberries: Just to be clear, fresh are best.
- Sugar: Granulated is recommended, but honestly you could use honey or agave to sweeten this.
- Mascarpone: Store bought is the easiest option, however you could make homemade.
- Basil: Use fresh basil with small leaves. Another thing you could use is mint.
- Orange: Fresh orange zest is used for garnish. Fresh limes or lemons could be substituted, either one works.
Directions for Watermelon Cups
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First, cut the rind off the watermelons.
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Next, cut the watermelon into small squares.
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After that, use a small melon baller to remove a small circle of watermelon from each cup.
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Then, use small pieces of paper towels to soak up any juice from the wells.
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Next, pulse the cranberries in a food processor.
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Then, add sugar and pulse again.
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After that, scoop the cranberry mascarpone into watermelon cups.
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Then, zest the orange and use as a garnish.
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Next, use fresh basil as a garnish.
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Lastly, serve them on a wooden tray!
Find more fabulous watermelon recipes on their website. There are really cool carvings section on their site too.
More great appetizer recipes
- Bacon Pizza Bites
- Caramel Apple Triscuit Bites
- Jalapeno Bacon Poppers
- Spinach Artichoke Cheesy Bread
- Chicken Fajita Mini Roll Ups
- Mini Potato Skins with Sour Cream, Bacon and Chives
- Root Beer Chicken Wings
- Buffalo Chicken Dip
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Watermelon Cups with Cranberry Mascarpone
Ingredients
- 2 mini seedless watermelons
- ¼ cup cranberries pulsed in a food processor
- 2 tsp sugar (honey and agave also work to sweeten the cranberries)
- 1 cup mascarpone
Garnish:
- 1 bunch basil tear, chop or mince
- 1 medium orange zest
Instructions
- Cut the rind off the watermelons. Try to cut it in a way to get the fruit as square as you can. I know it’s hard with a round fruit. I suggest cutting it in half, then place the cut side down on the cutting board so you can cut the edges off easily and safely. Once the rind is gone, cut the watermelon into small squares. You can cut them into small bite size squares or larger two bite squares. Either way works.
- Now lay out all your squares on a platter, and use a small melon baller to remove a small circle of watermelon from each piece. (save the pieces for a salad!) Use small pieces of paper towels to soak up any juice from the wells you’ve made in each piece. I tore one paper towel into strips then placed a tiny piece in each one and left them there while I made the filling.
- In a food processor pulse the cranberries until they are small pieces, not quite crumbs but close. Now add sugar (honey or agave can be substituted if you’re not able to use sugar) and pulse until it’s mixed thoroughly. The sugar helps sweeten the cranberries because they can be too tart for most people.
- Pour mascarpone into a large mixing bowl. Add the pulsed cranberry mixture to the bowl and mix by hand.
- Remove the paper towel pieces from each watermelon well and discard the paper towels.
- Use about ½ to 1 teaspoon of cranberry mascarpone mixture in each watermelon well. I rolled my cranberry mixture into balls so the presentation was pretty and also so the mixture went deep into each well.
- Zest one orange and use as a garnish on each watermelon cup.
- Tear pieces of basil and use them to garnish each watermelon cup.
- Serve with a big old Watermelon loving smile!
Notes
Nutrition
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Toodles! xx
cathy
These were absolute perfection. Can't wait to make them again.
Kim Beaulieu
Thanks so much.
Lindsay
Such a cute little recipe! So delicious!
Kim Beaulieu
Thank you.
Jayne F
So fun and simple to make!! Pretty too!
Kim Beaulieu
Thank you so much.