Bursting with flavor, this Apple Cranberry Pie combines seasonal fall flavors of baked apples and cranberries in a buttery filling with spices and notes of orange. Held together in a flaky crust that’s perfect for the fall holidays, especially Thanksgiving.
Why This Recipe Works
Apple pie has always been a standard Thanksgiving pie when we spend the holiday with my husband’s family in upstate New York. The leaves are brilliant fall colors and the apples are perfectly crisp. So when I planned on hosting my first Thanksgiving in Charleston I decided to add a little twist.
This version is just as delicious as the classic apple pie, with a slightly sweetened twist. With Cranberry Sauce being a staple for the main course, you can now add it into your dessert as well.
This pie is truly easy to prepare, which allows you plenty of time to create a fancy pie crust if you’d like to. It’s the perfect Thanksgiving pie.
Ingredients Needed
Ingredient Notes
- Pie Dough: I prefer to make my own pie crust, which allows me to have extra if I plan on decorating the crust like I did in this recipe. You can also buy a store-bought pie crust if you’d like to keep it simple. I recommend purchasing 2 packs because you will need 3 pie crusts (if you plan on decorating it).
- Fresh Cranberries: this recipe calls for fresh cranberries, which I know can only be found at certain times of the year, if you have to use frozen it’s okay, but they tend to release additional water which can cause the filling to be soupy.
- Apples: to keep the apple crisp during the baking process you’ll want to use a tart apple. I prefer Granny Smith apples and Honeycrip, but here are some other options to use as well.
- Orange Peel: adding in some orange peel helps the cranberries to retain their bright color as well as a tiny hint of citrusy flavor. You can also use lemon peel too.
- Spices: Cinnamon and nutmeg are the only spices you’ll use for this recipe, but you could also use apple pie spice.
Best Apples for Apple Pie
The apples that work best for this recipe are crisp with a tart flavor. Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Braeburn, McIntosh, Jonathan, Empire, and Cortland apples are all versions that work best for this apple pie. The easiest and most commonly found is Granny Smith.
Why do you use tart apples for apple pie? These apples are often the most firm and retain their shape during the baking process. The tartness also balances out the other sweet flavors of the pie.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Prepare the pie crust and allow the dough to chill for 1 hour before rolling it out.
- Make the filling in a large mixing bowl by stirring the apples, cranberries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, orange zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt together until evenly combined.
- Arrange the crust. Roll out one of the pie crusts onto a floured surface in a 12-inch sized disc (leave the other one in the fridge). As you roll the dough turn it until you’ve reached 12 inches in diameter.
- Cut off any pie dough hanging over the edge of the pie dish and save for later (if you plan on making a design on top. Place the pie dish into the fridge until you’re ready to add the filling.
- Add the filling to the prepared pie dish.
- Prepare the top pie crust. Roll the other disc of pie dough out using the same method and cut it into a lattice or place it directly on top of the pie. If not using a design slice a few slits into the top of the crust.
- In a small bowl whisk the egg and milk together and lightly brush the egg wash on top of the pie crust. Place the pie dish onto a baking sheet.
- Bake for 20 minutes at 400ºF and then reduce the temperature to 350ºF and bake for an additional 30 to 35 minutes.
Helpful Equipment
- Rolling Pin: I love my French rolling pin, which helps with getting that even disc for setting up the crust.
- Apple Corer: I like to slice my apples very thin for apple pie, which is why I prefer to use an apple corer instead of one that also divides the apple into pieces.
- Pastry Wheel: this isn’t necessary, however, it will make a beautiful lattice or cut in the pie crust if you’d like to add a design to it.
- Pie Crust Cutters: these are the pie crust cutters I used to make the leaf design for the top of the crust.
- Pastry Brush: this makes brusing the egg wash onto the pie crust super easy.
- Pie Sheild: using a pie shield at the end of the baking process helps to protect the crust from browning too much.
Storage Information
- Make Ahead Information: I don’t recommend assembling the apple pie to bake at a later time. The pastry shell will become too wet and soggy and then not set up properly during the baking process. The best method is to prepare the pie entirely the day before you plan on serving it. Let it cool completely, then cover it with plastic wrap or foil, and store it in the fridge overnight.
- Leftover Instructions: Once the pie is fully baked let it cool completely sitting on a wire rack. Then cover the pie tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil and refrigerate for up to 4 days before serving it.
- Freezing Instructions: To freeze the entire pie bake it in a pie dish that is freezer-friendly. Make the pie entirely. Then let it cool completely before placing it uncovered (yep, you read that correctly) in the freezer to freeze completely. Once completely frozen (don’t forget about it!!) wrap the pie tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil. To serve, thaw the pie at room temperature. Reheat it until it’s warm in a 350ºF oven for 30 minutes.
Recipe Notes and Tips
- I highly recommend a homemade pie crust for this pie. It gives it that “made from scratch” taste.
- You don’t need to par-bake the pie crust for this recipe, but if you want to add detail, such as a braid or cut-outs, you’re going to need 3 total pie crusts.
- After you’ve rolled the pie dough out and placed it in the pie dish keep dish in the fridge until you’re ready to place the filling in it.
- Don’t use frozen cranberries for this recipe! It will cause the filling to be very runny. It will still taste delicious, but won’t hold up as well when sliced.
- Place the pie dish on a rimmed baking sheet when you put it in the oven to bake, which will help if there are any drips.
- For some added sweetness sprinkle to cinnamon sugar, or just coarse sugar, on top of the pie crust before baking it.
FAQs
Yes, if you’d like to use brown sugar you can swap out the granulated sugar, which will give you a slightly richer molasses flavor overall.
Yes. I recently read a comment from someone stating this should be a year-round pie. I couldn’t agree more! The only problem though is that fresh cranberries, and even frozen, are often hard to find when they’re out of season. For those times you want to make this recipe you can definitely use dried cranberries.
Yes! Since this pie contains both fruit and sugar it will freeze really well. It can last up to 4 months in the freezer. How’s that for getting ahead of your Thanksgiving menu?
Related Recipes
If you made this Apple Cranberry Pie I want to hear all about it! Share a photo and tag me on Instagram using @AimeeMarsLiving and #AimeeMars so I can see your beautiful work. Enjoy!
Apple Cranberry Pie
Equipment
- Pie Dish
- Rolling Pie
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Mixing Bowl
- Pastry Brush
Ingredients
- 2 Homemade Pie Crusts
- 3 medium Apples peeled and sliced thin
- 1¾ cups Fresh Cranberries
- ¾ cup Sugar
- 2 tablespoons Cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
- 1 tablespoon Orange Zest
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Cloves
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 1 large Egg beaten
- 1 tablespoon Milk
Instructions
- Prepare the pie crust and allow the dough to chill for 1 hour before rolling it out.
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
- Make the filling in a large mixing bowl by stirring the apples, cranberries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, orange zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt together until evenly combined.
- Arrange the pie crust. Roll out one of the pie crusts onto a floured surface in a 12-inch sized disc (leave the other one in the fridge). As you roll the dough turn it until you've reached 12 inches in diameter.
- Carefully drape the pie dough over your rolling pin and center it over your pie dish and lay it in.
- Cut off any pie dough hanging over the edge of the pie dish and save for later (if you plan on making a design on top. Place the pie dish into the fridge until you're ready to add the filling.
- Add the filling to the pie dough.
- Roll the other disc of pie dough out using the same method and cut it into a lattice or place it directly on top of the pie. If not using a design slice a few slits into the top of the crust. Add any pie crust cutouts on top if using.
- Make the egg wash. In a small bowl whisk the egg and milk together and lightly brush the egg wash on top of the pie crust.
- Sit the pie dish onto a large baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350ºF without opening the oven and continue to bake for 30 to 35 minutes.
- Let the pie cool to room temperature for 3 hours before slicing it.
Notes
- I highly recommend a homemade pie crust for this pie. It gives it that “made from scratch” taste.
- You don’t need to par-bake the pie crust for this recipe, but if you want to add detail, such as a braid or cut-outs, you’re going to need 3 total pie crusts.
- After you’ve rolled the pie dough out and placed it in the pie dish keep dish in the fridge until you’re ready to place the filling in it.
- Don’t use frozen cranberries for this recipe! It will cause the filling to be very runny. It will still taste delicious, but won’t hold up as well when sliced.
- Place the pie dish on a rimmed baking sheet when you put it in the oven to bake, which will help if there are any drips.
- To avoid the edges of the pie crust from browning too much use a pie shield with 20 minutes left in the baking process.
- For some added sweetness sprinkle cinnamon sugar, or just coarse sugar, on top of the pie crust before baking it.
