Cranberry Apple Pie

Ever since we moved to Boston, our lovely Connecticut family invited us over to their home for every possible occasion ("welcome to New England, let's get together again," Thanksgiving, Easter, Fathers Day, you name it). Naturally, I choose to thank them in forms of food and booze! We were once again invited to join them for Thanksgiving, and I wanted to bring a different dessert this year. Whenever I go on a sweets baking craze, I insist that Will be my guinea pig (he has yet to complain about this). I'll admit, I was a little hesitant to make this pie, because while I love cranberries, Will tends to shy away from desserts with fruit in them. However, this pie was an exception. It did NOT last long, and Will was constantly sneaking pieces for breakfast, lunch, snacks, dessert. I was stunned. It appears as though I have a fruit pie convert! This will definitely be making an appearance for Thanksgiving this year. Here are a couple of changes I made:

1. I mixed all of the ingredients for the filling together. The original instructions tell you to add the apples and cranberries afterward, but I was worried that the paste wouldn't cover the fruit well enough. My method worked just fine.
2. This recipe calls for a LOT of sugar (2 cups). That's way too sweet, in my humble opinion. I like the tartness of the cranberries, and I didn't want that to be compromised. I used 1 1/4 cups of sugar, and that was more than enough.
3. Unless you cut back on the orange juice and add more cornstarch, this pie will be very runny. I recommend letting it cool completely on the counter and then sticking it in the fridge for a few hours to solidify.
4. I just preheated my oven to 400, and cooked the pie for 50 minutes. This was perfect.
Adapted from All Recipes

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 1/4 cup orange juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon apple pie spice
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 4 cups sliced peeled tart apples
  • 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
  • 1 Pastry for double-crust pie (9 inches) (I used my recipe for 2 servings of my basic pie crust)
  • 2 tablespoons butter
Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. Add apples and cranberries; toss gently. 

 2. Line a 9-in. pie plate with bottom pastry. Add filling; dot with butter. 
3. Roll the remaining pastry to fit top of pie. Cut vents in pastry, using a small apple cutter if desired. 
 (I also added some pretty dough decorations using my fall cutouts from Williams Sonoma!)
4. Place over filling; seal and flute the edges.

5. Bake at 425 degrees F for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F; bake 50 minutes longer or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. 

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