Slightly sweetened apple and cranberry pie with the warm flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar. This cranberry apple pie is the perfect dessert to transition from fall to winter.
Hi! This is Andrea from Cooking with a Wallflower. I’m back this month to share with you a dessert recipe that’s perfect for both fall and winter.
Can you believe that it’s already December? Is it chilly where you are? Are you done with your Christmas shopping? If you are, I’m so jealous! I always have so much difficulties picking out gifts for people. As much as I love the holiday season, I’m always stressed out over gifts.
Today, I wanted to share with you a delicious pie that’s perfect for the holidays. This pie is filled with sweet and tart apples and festive cranberries. It’s super easy to make and so impressive too.
For this recipe, I used store bought pie crusts, which are cheap and usually come in a pack of two. You can definitely make your pie crust from scratch. But Ifind that sometimes I’m in a hurry and I don’t have time to make them from scratch so I use store bought ones.
Preheat the oven to 350F. Place the pie crust on a baking sheet and use a fork to puncture holes at the bottom. This keeps the bottom of the pie from rising. Bake the pie crust for about 10 minutes before removing them from the oven.
While the pie crust is baking, you can make the filling.
Cut the apples into slices or cubes. I prefer slices because it’s much easier to cut the pie later. Trust me, I’ve tried both ways. Place the cut apples in a medium pot. Add a little bit of water, spices, and brown sugar. Allow the apples to cook for about 10 minutes until the apple slices are tender yet still crisp.
When the apples are almost ready, whisk together flour and water in a small bowl. This will serve as a thickener for the pie. Slowly pour the flour mixture into the pot of apples and stir to prevent the flour from forming clumps. The spiced apple juice at the bottom of the pot will start to thicken. Remove the pot from heat and set aside for now.
Remove the pie crust from the oven and set it aside to cool down for now.
In another pot, add cranberries, water, and granulated sugar. Cook the cranberries until they’ve softened and the berries burst open. The water will also have thicken.
Now, pour the cranberries into the pot of apples. Stir until the ingredients are well incorporated.
Pour the pie filling into the crust. Layer a second crust on top. Now you can get as creative as you like. I bought leaf shaped pie crust cutter, but there are tons of ways to design your crust, including lattice.
So get creative as you like!
Crack an egg into a bowl and beat it. Use a pastry brush to brush the egg wash over the entire crust. This helps the crust become browner.
Place the pie crust on the baking sheet into the oven. Bake for about 30-40 minutes until the crust turns a golden brown color.
Once the pie is done, set it out to cool. You want the pie to cool down completely so that the pie filling has time to set before cutting into it. Otherwise, the pie will fall apart when you slice into it.
Serve the pie warm or cold.
Enjoy!
Andrea
- 2 pie crusts, homemade or store bought
- 5 medium sized apples (Gala and Granny Smith, etc), sliced or cubed
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- ⅛ cup water
- 1¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon all spice
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 2½ teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ⅛ cup water
- 1 egg, beaten for egg wash
- Preheat the oven to 400F. Place the pie crust on a baking sheet and use a fork to puncture holes at the bottom. This keeps the bottom of the pie from rising. Bake the pie crust for about 10 minutes before removing them from the oven.
- While the pie crust is baking, make the filling.
- First, cut the apples into slices or cubes. Place the cut apples in a medium pot. Add a little bit of water, spices, and brown sugar. Allow the apples to cook for about 10 minutes until the apple slices are tender yet still crisp.
- When the apples are almost ready, whisk together cornstarch and water in a small bowl. This will serve as a thickener for the pie. Slowly pour the cornstarch mixture into the pot of apples and stir to prevent the cornstarch from forming clumps. The spiced apple juice at the bottom of the pot will start to thicken. Remove the pot from heat and set aside for now.
- Take the pie crust out of the oven, and set it aside to cool down for now.
- In another pot, add cranberries, water, and granulated sugar. Cook the cranberries until they’ve softened and the berries burst open. The water will also have thickened.
- Now, pour the cranberries into the pot of apples. Stir until the ingredients are well incorporated.
- Pour the pie filling into the crust. Layer a second crust on top. You can get as creative as you like.
- Crack an egg into a bowl and beat it. Use a pastry brush to brush the egg wash over the entire crust. This helps the crust become browner.
- Place the pie crust on the baking sheet into the oven. Bake for about 30-40 minutes until the crust turns a golden brown color.
- Once the pie is done, set it out to cool. You want the pie to cool down completely so that the pie filling has time to set before cutting into it. Otherwise, the pie will fall apart when you slice into it.
- Serve the pie warm or cold.
