Creating a fabulous apple pie is all about the details. For starters, not every apple holds up well to baking, so we went with two that do. Granny Smith has a beautiful tartness and keeps its shape, while Golden Delicious add sweetness and softens up a bit, helping to hold the green apple slices together. Then there’s flavor. Three kinds of spices and two of citrus add complexity, and cranberries bring in a pop of color and tartness. Finally, for beauty, and to prevent the slump that can occur in a baked apple pie between the top pastry crust and the filling, we precooked the apples just a little. (For best results with this technique, the fruit is cut in bigger pieces than you might be used to for apple pie.
Satisfy your sweet tooth with this easy-to-make recipe for Spiced Apple Cranberry Pie.
1. Info for Spiced Apple Cranberry Pie
- Cook Time: 5 hr 15 min
- Total Time: 5 hr 15 min
- Servings: 8
- Calories: 420.68 kcal
2. Ingredients for Spiced Apple Cranberry Pie
- sugar
- cornstarch
- ground cinnamon
- ground ginger
- ground nutmeg
- salt
- fresh orange juice
- fresh lemon juice
- granny smith apples
- golden delicious apples
- fresh cranberries
- orange zest
- flour
- pie crusts
- whipping cream
3. Directions:
- In a large bowl, stir together sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt to combine. Stir in orange juice and lemon juice. Add both kinds of apples and toss to coat.
- Scrape apple mixture into a 12-inch frying pan. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, until apples soften at edges but are still crisp in the middle, 7 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cranberries and orange zest. Scrape mixture (including syrup) onto a sheet pan, let cool about 10 minutes, and then chill until cold, about 30 minutes.
- Set a rack on the lowest position in an oven and preheat oven to 425°.
- Dust a work surface with flour (skip this if you’re using a store-bought refrigerated pie crust, since it’s already rolled out). Roll out 1 pastry crust to a 12-inch round, lifting and reflouring work surface as needed to prevent sticking. Fold round in quarters and then open it up into a 9-inch pie pan, easing it into place without stretching. Using kitchen scissors, trim overhanging pastry to 1/2 inch beyond edge of pie pan. Set crust aside in the refrigerator.
- Re-flour work surface and roll out second pastry crust to a 12-inch round.
- Arrange apple mixture evenly in chilled pie crust, distributing cranberries. Set second pastry on top of pie and open it up to cover filling. Trim overhang on top pastry to ½ inch beyond edge of pie pan. Gently roll top crust under bottom crust, flush with edge of pie pan.
- Flute edge of pastry; or with a fork, press edge together to seal. With a sharp knife, cut a few decorative slits in top crust near the center. Brush pastry with cream. Set pie in a sheet pan and wrap edge of pastry with 4 strips of foil or a pie shield.
- Bake pie on lowest rack of preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake until juices bubble through vents and crust is nicely browned, 25 to 35 minutes more.
- Let pie cool completely on a rack, at least 3 hours. Any leftovers can be stored at room temperature up to 2 days.