People have strong opinions about tart fruits like fresh cranberries. I offered to make this fresh cranberry apple pie over the holidays for my husband’s extended family and my own, and one side of the family said, “no, thanks!” while the other said “yes, please!” The one side of the family liked it so much that we made it again already this holiday season and plan to make it another time still!
I do love the combination of tart and sweet when it comes to baked fruit desserts. Depending on the season, one of my favorite pies is a tart cherry pie. Cranberries offer an excellent flavor when baked because, unlike some other tart fruits like sour cherries or red currants, they don’t have pits or big seeds, so you can just rinse them and throw them into whatever you are baking. This cranberry apple pie combines the sweetness of apples with the tartness of cranberries just perfectly. A homemade crust takes the pie from ordinary to extraordinary. The crumb topping adds just the right amount of sweetness and nutty crunch to the top.
To start, you’ll want fresh cranberries and some flavorful homegrown apples.
Then I make my own dough using real butter, then make the filling and then the topping.
PrintPie Crust Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 10 mins
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup butter
- 4 – 5 tablespoons cold water
Instructions
- Stir together flour and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until pieces are pea-size.
- Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the water over part of the mixture and gently stir in. Gently mix in water 1 tablespoon at a time, forming dough gently into a ball. Do not over-work.
- On a lightly floured surface, use your hands to slightly flatten dough. Roll dough from center to edges into a circle about 14 inches in diameter.
- To transfer the dough, wrap it around the rolling pin. Unroll it into a 9-inch pie plate. Ease the dough into pie plate, being careful not to stretch pastry.
- Rim the dough to 1-2 inches beyond edge of pie plate. Add the filling and fold over as a “galette.” Brush the folded-over edges with milk. Bake according to pie baking directions below.
Cranberry Apple Pie
- Prep Time: 25 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 mins
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Ingredients
Filling
- 4 cups sliced peeled cooking apples (4 medium)
- 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Topping
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Dash nutmeg
- 1/4 cup butter or margarine
- 1/3 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375°F.
- Follow instructions above to make pie crust and add to pie plate.
- In large bowl, gently mix apples and cranberries. In small bowl, mix remaining filling ingredients. Add dry ingredients to fruit; toss to coat. Pour into crust-lined pie plate.
- In small bowl, mix flour, brown sugar and spices. With pastry blender, cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in pecans. Sprinkle evenly over filling. Fold crust over the pie and brush with water or milk.
- Place tin foil or a pie crust shield around the crust.
- Bake 45 to 55 minutes or until apples are tender, and crust and topping are golden brown.