Winter Fruit Salad Cinnamon

# What you need:

01 - 10 mandarin oranges, peeled and segmented

02 - 4 large Fuji apples, cored and diced

03 - 2 pomegranates, arils removed

04 - 1 cup granulated sugar

05 - 1 cup water

06 - 2 cinnamon sticks

07 - 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped, or 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract

01 - In a small saucepan, combine sugar, water, cinnamon sticks, and vanilla bean with seeds and pod.

02 - Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally until sugar is completely dissolved.

03 - Remove from heat and allow the dressing to cool to room temperature, approximately 1 hour. Remove cinnamon sticks and vanilla pod.

04 - In a large bowl, combine mandarin orange segments, diced apples, and pomegranate arils.

05 - Drizzle the cooled cinnamon vanilla dressing over the fruit and gently toss until evenly coated.

06 - Serve immediately or chill until ready to serve.

01 -

The cinnamon vanilla dressing is unforgettable—it transforms simple winter fruit into something that feels fancy without requiring any real skill.
It's naturally vegan and gluten-free, so you can serve it to almost anyone without stress or substitutions.
You can make it ahead, which means less kitchen chaos when guests arrive.

02 -

The most important lesson: cool that syrup completely before adding it to the fruit, or you'll end up with warm, mushy apples instead of the bright, crisp texture you want.
Don't toss the fruit aggressively—think of it more as a gentle fold, the way you'd handle something precious.

03 -

Make the syrup the night before so the flavors deepen and you have one less thing to worry about on party day.
If you can't find real vanilla beans, vanilla bean paste gives you those tiny speck details that make people think you're more experienced than you are.