Bring 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water to a simmer in a saucepan. Simmer until sugar is completely dissolved.

Pour simple syrup into a heatproof bowl and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.

Add cranberries and stir to coat.

Refrigerate cranberries in syrup overnight.

Remove cranberries from syrup and roll in remaining 1/2 cup of sugar. You’ll need to roll them a few times to get a couple layers of sugar on them.

Set cranberries aside to dry for a hour.