Two of fall's best flavors come together in a tart, but sweet Fresh Cranberry Apple Pie that's perfect for the holiday season!
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I recently read an article that cranberry sauce is one of the most hated items on the Thanksgiving table. Hold up! Wait a minute! One of my favorite things on the Thanksgiving table is the cranberry sauce!
I don’t mean the glob of gelatinous cranberry muck that comes out in the shape of a tin can and needs to be sliced. Oh no! I’m talking about that whole berry goodness! I would eat a bowl of whole berry cranberry sauce on its own like it’s a dessert jelly (especially when Mom makes it homemade). I love it that much!
So like a hundred years ago, when I started this blog, I made a cranberry pie recipe because I wanted to figure out how to wrap all of that tart, cranberry goodness into a delicious dessert. My family gave it some flack at first. But they came around with that first mouthful of not too tart, not too sweet berry flavor baked in a flaky pie crust!
A new and improved holiday cranberry pie recipe!
So a hundred years later - or last weekend - I decided to pull out this pie recipe again after grabbing a bag of fresh cranberries from the store. I've made a couple revisions to the original recipe. This time, I've added apples (another fall favorite), fresh orange juice, vanilla bean, and other spices to the mix.
The recipe starts out like you're making a fresh cranberry sauce. Add whole cranberries to a pot with fresh orange juice, sugar, and stir. Then, I added diced apples, vanilla bean, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Flour helps the filling thicken into a gorgeous, red, fruit filling that smells like the holiday season!
Pour the mixture into a prepared pie crust (we use store bought because I haven't mastered homemade). Then, top it with another pie crust and bake.
Along with not being able to master a homemade pie crust recipe, I'm also terrible at crimping my pie crust edges and making any sort of fancy decoration on top. But I was able to make a pretty lattice crust and added a turkey cutout for Thanksgiving. Those pie edges? Made with a fork. It would be totally cool with me if someone could sign me up for a pie crust decorating class for Christmas!
Fresh Cranberry Apple Pie
Ingredients
- 2 refrigerated pie crusts
- 1 - 12 oz bag fresh cranberries
- 1/2 cup fresh orange juice about 2 oranges
- 1 3/4 cups sugar
- 2 cups diced apples
- 1 vanilla bean inside scraped
- 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons flour
- Pinch of salt
- 1 egg beaten for egg wash
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Line a pie plate with one pie crust.
- In saucepan add the fresh cranberries and orange juice. Bring to a boil.
- Gradually add the sugar to the mixture and stir.
- Then, add the diced apples, vanilla bean, cinnamon, flour, and salt.
- Lower the heat and continue cooking until mixture thickens.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
- Once the filling is cool, pour into the pie crust.
- Add the top crust as a lattice crust, or as a whole top crust, and crimp the edges. Brush crust with egg wash.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.
- Slice and serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, if desired.
My husband said this pie was a little too tart for his taste (it still hasn't stopped him from digging into the pie plate though). But that's because he didn't listen to his food loving wife. I told him he should have warmed his slice up and added a nice dollop of whipped cream on top!
I would also highly suggest serving the pie with vanilla ice cream. It balances out the tartness of the cranberries. As for me, I'm a big fan of tart flavors! And pie! So I've been a pretty happy girl!
Did you make this Fresh Cranberry Apple Pie recipe? Share it on social media using the hashtag #holokahome. Don’t forget to tag me @holokahome!
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