Cranberry Pie: cherry pie’s evil (but gorgeous) stepsister.

Thanksgiving is upon us!  This year, we’ll be having a couple family dinners: we meet up with my side of the family this weekend, and then the Hubs’ family on actual Turkey Day.  Huzzah for two sessions of gorging, amirightmyfriends?

If you’re in need of a quick dessert recipe for your holiday feastings, look no further.  This delicious pie is both sweet and tart… like the wicked doppelganger* of the more traditional cheery cherry pie. (*Yes, I’ve been watching to much Vampire Diaries.)

And…I got to practice my crust decorating skills.

In true Louisiana fashion, we have the fleur de lis!  Not bad for hand drawn/cut, eh?  I’m a little proud, if you can’t tell.

Ingredients:

2 pre-made refrigerated pie crusts
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup Splenda
1/3 cup flour
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water
12 oz fresh cranberries
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
2 teaspoons light butter

Directions:

Heat oven to 425F.

In a large saucepan, combine the sugars, flour, cornstarch, salt, and water.  Bring to boil and cook, stirring constantly until thick & smooth.  Add the cranberries, orange juice, and spices.  Cook another 5-10 minutes until the berries pop. Remove from heat, and add the butter.  Stir until melted & combined.

Place one crust in a pie plate.  Then add the filling.

Roll your other crust (the top) onto a sheet of wax paper or a flexible cutting mat so that you can cut your vents—whether you choose to be artistic or purely practical is entirely up to you, though I of course recommend the former.

(For this, I just made small cuts with a knife close together---the lines aren’t actually connected, lest the whole pattern fall out while cooking.)

Place the top crust onto the pie, and then pinch the edges.

If you have one, add a pie crust protector to the edge of the pan to prevent the lip of the crust from over baking & getting too brown. 

(If you don’t have one, I highly recommend adding it to your Christmas list for Santa this year.)

Bake for 30 minutes, then remove the crust protector and bake another 10 minutes until the crust is a lovely brown.

Allow to cool fully before serving, so the filling can fully congeal.

Buttery, flaky crust, fresh fruit filling, deliciously sweet & tart with a homey tinge of orange & holiday spices.

Life gets no better, my friends!

 

NutriFacts:

Calories 233.3

  Total Fat 8.8 g

  Saturated Fat 2.8 g

  Polyunsaturated Fat 1.3 g

  Monounsaturated Fat 4.1 g

  Cholesterol 0.0 mg

  Sodium 230.6 mg

  Potassium 67.7 mg

  Total Carbohydrate 38.1 g

  Dietary Fiber 2.0 g

  Sugars 24.2 g

  Protein 1.3 g