Apple Cranberry Pie with flaky lattice crust and filling drenched in caramel-like sauce. Perfect for the weekends or holidays.
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and like me, you are probably busy making preparations for the big meal. Maybe not a big shebang but a modest celebration. Most people are stuck at home anyways, and so the least we can all do is to prepare a meal for the family.
It has been a difficult year to say the least, but we can all still be thankful for the small blessings that we have received along the way. 2020 started out with a lot of promise but went downhill rapidly. If only we had 2020 vision of the future, perhaps we could have made some preparations… Anyway, I am sure many of us are glad that 2020 is coming to an end. Hopefully, 2021 will be easier on everyone.
Thanksgiving Menu
I am planning on a classic Thanksgiving menu this year with the following dishes.
1. Dry Rub Roast Turkey
2. Candied Sweet Potato
3. Green Bean Casserole
4. Cranberry Sauce
and the must-have gravy and Creamy Mashed Potatoes.
For dessert, it will be this beautifully Apple Cranberry Pie. I made this pie last year but kept it on the back burner and did not post the recipe until today. After publishing this recipe, I will have to go full steam ahead to make this pie for tomorrow.
Apple Cranberry Pie with Lattice Crust
There are many ways to top a pie and I have used three popular methods on this blog.
1. Double crust like this Turkey Pot Pie.
2. Crumb topping like this Pear Pie.
3. Lattice crust like this Apple Pie.
My favorite is the lattice crust. This time, I used a plastic crinkle cutter that I have had for a long time to cut the pastry into strips. It worked but was a little unwieldy. I will probably get a Pastry Wheel Decorator and Cutter for this purpose the next time.
Pastry Cutouts
To further decorate your pie, you can cut out pastry shapes from the remaining dough to place on the top. Never let the good dough go to waste. Use small 1-inch cookie cutters to cut out desired shapes to decorate your pie for a festive look. For Thanksgiving, leaf cutouts would probably convey the season better. Unfortunately, I don’t have a small leaf cookie cutter and so I used a snowflake cutter. The good thing is that this pie will also work beautifully for Christmas especially with a red pie dish. 😉
Similar Tools Used in Making This Apple Cranberry Pie
This post contains affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy here.
Emile Henry Modern Classics Pie Dish 9″
Stainless Steel Mixing Bowls With Lids and Non Slip Silicone Base, Set of 3
Dough Blender with Heavy Duty Stainless Steel Blades
Le Creuset Silicone Craft Series Small Spatula, 11 1/8″ x 1 3/4″, Marseille
Pyrex Prepware 1-Cup Measuring Cup
Cuisipro Stainless Steel Measuring Cup and Spoon Set
Apple Cranberry Pie
Ingredients
Pastry
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour (375g)
- 2 sticks unsalted butter (1 cup/226g)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 8 to 10 tbsp cold water
Filling
- 2 large Honey Crisp apples
- 2 medium Granny Smith apples
- ½ cup dried cranberries (70g)
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter (56g)
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ½ cup brown sugar (90g)
- ½ cup apple juice (120ml)
- 1 large egg + 2 tbsp water for egg wash
Instructions
Pastry
- In a large bowl, combine all-purpose flour and salt. With a pastry blender or two butter knives, cut in butter/shortening until flour resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
- Stir in cold water 1 tablespoon at a time and knead lightly until dough comes together. It is okay if there is still some loose flour. Do not overwork dough.
- Divide dough into 2, one about 5/8 and the other 3/8 of the total amount of dough. Form each portion into a ball. Wrap in plastic and allow dough to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Filling
- Peel, core, and thinly slice all apples. Place sliced apples in a large bowl. Sprinkle dried cranberries on the top. Set aside.
- Melt butter in a large saucepan. Stir in all-purpose flour and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground cloves, brown sugar, and apple juice. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and allow it to simmer until mixture is thick and bubbly, about 4 to 5 minutes.
- Remove and pour over sliced apples and dried cranberries. Mix with a spatula until apples and cranberries are evenly coated with the sauce.
Putting it together
- Roll out the larger dough ball on a lightly floured surface into a circle about 12 inches in diameter.
- Gently transfer dough by wrapping it round the rolling pin and unrolling it onto an 8-inch (20cm) pie plate. Line pie plate with the dough and trim pastry to ½ inch beyond pie plate.
- Spoon prepared filling on the pastry lined pie plate.
- Roll out the remaining dough ball. Cut pastry into ¾-inch (2 cm) strips.
- Weave strips over filling to form the lattice crust. Press end of strips onto the edge of pie plate. Trim off excess pastry and crimp the edge with a fork.
- If desired, cut out snowflakes from the dough trimmings using a cookie cutter.
- Brush lattice crust with egg wash. Arrange snowflake cutouts on lattice crust decoratively. Brush egg wash on each of the snowflake cutouts.
- Bake in a 350˚F (180°C) oven for 60 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Remove from oven and allow pie to cool slightly before serving.
Nutrition
A Beautiful and Delicious Pie
All in all, I am very satisfied with how this pie turned out. I followed my go-to pie crust recipe that I have used over and over again. The crust was light and flaky. The trick here is not to handle the crust too much or it will become “tough”. The filling was deliciously moist but not soggy. It was a beautiful pie if I can say so myself. I hope you will give it a try.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!
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