Cranberry-Herbal Tea Granita

Here's a light and tasty icy-cool ending to a festive holiday dinner.

Makes 8 servings

5 whole cloves
1 slice orange
2 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
1 stick cinnamon
3 tea bags red zesty herbal tea flavored with hibiscus,
    rose hips and lemongrass
1 1/2 cups cranberry juice cocktail
1 1/2 cups pineapple juice
Fresh fruit, if desired
Thin almond wafer cookies, if desired

1. Insert cloves into peel of orange slice. In 2-quart saucepan, heat water, sugar, cinnamon and orange slice to boiling, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; add tea bags. Cover; let steep 5 minutes. Remove tea bags, cinnamon stick and orange slice.

2. Stir cranberry and pineapple juices into tea. Pour into 2-quart nonmetal bowl or 8-inch square glass baking dish. Cover; freeze about 2 hours or until partially frozen. Stir with fork or wire whisk. Cover; freeze 3 hours longer, stirring every 30 minutes and breaking up any large chunks.

3. Remove granita from freezer 20 minutes before serving. Spoon into stemmed glasses. Garnish with fruit and cookies.

Nutrition Information: 1 Serving: Calories 100 (Calories from Fat 0); Total Fat 0g (Saturated Fat 0g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 0mg; Total Carbohydrate 26g (Dietary Fiber 0g, Sugars 23g); Protein 0g

Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 0%; Vitamin C 15%; Calcium 0%; Iron 0%

Exchanges: 1 1/2 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Vegetable Carbohydrate Choices: 2

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Substitution:
For Rosemary-Green Tea Granita, substitute green tea for the red zesty tea, pineapple juice for the cranberry juice and a rosemary sprig for the cinnamon stick.

Time-Saver:
If you don't want the hassle of stirring every 30 minutes, stir granita after 2 hours, then cover and freeze 3 hours or overnight. To serve, scrape surface of granita with fork and spoon into glasses.

Special Touch:
Garnish with festive kiwifruit stars. To easily make the stars, cut slices of kiwifruit with a small, deep star-shaped cookie cutter.

Recipe and photograph provided courtesy of Betty Crocker � 2007 �/TM General Mills All Rights Reserved