Cranberry Pie for Thanksgiving

Cranberry-Pie

Warning, this cranberry pie is probably not for everbody. I made it pretty tart and tangy. But if you think of it as a replacement for the cranberry sauce, you may be swayed. It has a slight hint of sage and is prepared with dried as well as fresh cranberries. As the pie crust is prepared without egg, you can make it a few days in advance.

Cranberry PieFor all the Non-Americans visiting this site, Thanksgiving is traditionally celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November, this year on November 24, 2022. President Abraham Lincoln was the one who moved it from October to the fourth Thursday of November. This was to get the Christmas season to start early. We also have Thanksgiving in Germany and the reason for it is the same, it is to celebrate that another harvest made it, to celebrate that winter was survived. However, here in Germany is it only celebrated in churches and is purely religious. Giving thanks and counting your blessings is something that is done here, too. However, I have the feeling, and feel free to correct me, it is so much more in the United States. It may only be my impression, but skipping Thanksgiving is something more frowned upon than missing Christmas. At least you need to see your family on Thanksgiving.

Traditionelles Thanksgiving-Essen

To me Thanksgiving is mainly about the food. It is called a “carb” fest for a reason. Beside turkey you have carbs left and right. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, bread, buns, and some roasted veggetables like Brusseles sprouts or pumpkin. This is then topped off with more carbs, our beloved pie. The most traditional is pumpkin pie, pecan pie, or apple pie.  The top is either created like a lattice crust or decorated with other parts, such a braided dough, some cut out leaves, etc. How to make an American pie is explained in this blog post. If you are on the lookout for a pie recipe, check this article.

Today I am going to introduce a cranberry pie. This may serve as an excuse for no cranberry sauce. The big advantage is that this can be made in advance. Pie is so much easier to cut once it had the chance to cool overnight in the fridge. So if you want to get that oven time out of the way so you can bake your turkey and sides on Thanksgiving, how about making this pie one or two days in advance?

Credit: The lemon apron

Cranberry Pie for Thanksgiving

Serves: One pie, about 23-24cm in ∅
Prep Time: 1hr Cooking Time: 1hr Total Time: 2hr

This cranberry pie is perfect for Thanksgiving and can be served instead of cranberry sauce.

Ingredients

  • Pie Crust (for a lot of tips, please check this blog post)
  • 300 grams of all-purpose flour
  • 30 grams of regular sugar
  • 200 grams of cold butter
  • 1 tablespoons strong alcohol such as vodka (can be replaced with water)
  • 1-3 tablespoons of cold water

  • Filling
  • 100 grams of sweetened and dry cranberries
  • 400 grams of fresh cranberries
  • 50 grams of regular sugar
  • 70 grams of brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons of dried sage
  • 4 tablespoons of cassava starch
  • 1 small apple
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • 1 egg for egg wash and coarse sugar for dusting

Instructions

1

For the pie crust mix flour and sugar in a large bowl. Add the cold butter in chunks and quickly work into crumbs with your hands. Then add the whisky and one tablespoon of water. Only work until you can form a ball. If the dough is too crumbly, add a bit of water until you can. Cover and chill in the fridge for at least half an hour or longer. You can chill the dough overnight.

2

For the filling boil enough water to cover the dried cranberries, Let sit while you continue with the filling. In a lrage bowl combine 200 grams of fresh cranberries, the sugars, sage, and cassava starch. Peel the apple, core and cut into four pieces then grate thinnly and add to the bowl. Mix in egg and vanilla extract. Lastly either briefly process the 200 grams of fresh cranberries remaining in a food processor or chop with your hands. Mix all ingredients well. Then set aside.

3

Take the dough out of the fridge, divide in half, transfer one half back and roll out the second half on a lightly floured surface. Roll into a circle slightly bigger than your baking pan. Pie forms are usually about 23cm in diameter. Transfer to the pie form to cover bottom and sides, then pour the filling into it. Put the pie back into the fridge. Now take out the second half of the dough, roll out into a circle and either cover the pie with it, cutting a few vents in the middle for air to get out or arrange a lattice pattern on top. How to do this best, can be seen in this video. Roll any overhang towards the middle and crimp as desired. If you would like to see how I do that, check out this video. You can only simply seal the top with a fork. Make sure to cut off any overhang.

4

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Brush the pie with some egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar. If the oven is still preheating, chill the pie in the fridge. Bake for 20min at 200 degrees Celsius, then reduce heat to 180 degrees and bake for an additional 40min. The filling should bubble and start coming out. If the top gets too dark, cover the pie with aluminum foil. Let the pie cool to room temperature, then transfer to the fridge and chill overnight. You can eat pie warm, but it will be much easier to cut it the next day. Enjoy with some whipped cream, ice cream or just plain.

You Might Also Like

11 Comments

  • Reply
    Susanne
    Sunday November 27th, 2022 at 03:50 PM

    Oh, die ist aber meine Kragenweite – ich bin ja keine so Süße. Und der Salbei an der Füllung klingt sehr apart.

    • Reply
      Jenny
      Sunday November 27th, 2022 at 03:51 PM

      Dann ist das tatsächlich was für dich!

  • Reply
    Gabi
    Monday November 28th, 2022 at 02:37 PM

    Der ist ja wunderschön, wie aus dem Thanksgiving-Bilderbuch!

  • Reply
    Petra aka Cascabel
    Monday November 28th, 2022 at 09:53 PM

    Die Cranberries in einer Pie stelle ich mir klasse vor, die passen mit ihrer Säure auc hnoch zum Abschluss eines üppigen Essens!

  • Reply
    Regina
    Wednesday November 30th, 2022 at 02:51 PM

    Wow, wie lecker! Die Cranberry-Pie schmeckt sicher wunderbar!

  • Reply
    Simone von zimtkringel
    Wednesday November 30th, 2022 at 09:45 PM

    Der ist ja schön! Und Salbei in der Füllung finde ich spannend.

  • Reply
    Kathrina
    Thursday December 1st, 2022 at 08:30 AM

    Das klingt ja total lecker. Ich mag Cranbeeries sehr gerne und die Kombination mit Salbei finde ich total spannend.

  • Reply
    Kathrina
    Thursday December 1st, 2022 at 08:31 AM

    Das klingt ja total lecker. Ich mag Cranberries sehr gerne und die Kombination mit Salbei finde ich total spannend.

  • Reply
    Pane-Bistecca
    Saturday December 3rd, 2022 at 05:42 AM

    Uiii lecker lecker lecker!!!!

    LG Wilma

  • Reply
    Zoe von fluffig&hart
    Thursday December 8th, 2022 at 10:23 PM

    Ein wunderschönes Muster hast Du da auf Deinen Pie gezaubert, sieht echt toll aus!

  • Reply
    Volker
    Saturday January 28th, 2023 at 08:26 AM

    Hallo Jenny,

    schön das Du dabei warst. Den Kuchen hätte ich auch gerne als Abschluss zu meinem Thanksgiving Essen.

    Gruß Volker

  • Leave a Reply