Cranberry-Apple Pie with Maple Syrup and Cinnamon

There was a bumper harvest of apples this year at my favorite local orchard, and fresh cranberries are shining like rubies in the produce section.  Wisconsin is the top cranberry producing states in the U.S., and produces half the world’s supply of cranberries.  I also have a nice stash of local maple syrup, so I figured I’d take a shot at combining all three into a tasty cranberry-apple pie.  It turned out quite pretty and pairs nicely with some ice cream or whipping cream.

Cranberry-Apple Pie with Maple Syrup and Cinnamon

Makes one 10 inch pie

Ingredients

Momma’s Pastry Crust Recipe

Makes three single 9″-10″ rounds, enough for one pie with top and bottom crust and a single crust pie

• 3 cups flour
• 1 cup lard (or half butter and half palm shortening)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 3 tbsp water
• 1 tablespoon vinegar

Filling:

• 6 cups apples, peeled and sliced
• 2 cups fresh or thawed cranberries (about 8 ounces)
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/2 cup cane sugar or rapidura (organic is great if you have it)
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions

To make the crust – The “secret” to a flakier crust is to keep your ingredients chilled (limit time working the dough with warm hands) and to work the dough gently.  You’re not kneading bread. I like to use non-hydrogenated lard from the mom and pop meat place just down the road as my fat, or butter and palm shortening.  I don’t use vegetable shortening because it is hydrogenated, and contains oxidized (damaged) cholesterol.  Same thing with many lards sold in grocery stores – you need to read the label.  You can use all butter, but the crust will be a little bit stickier and tougher to work with.  Lard and palm shortening have a more neutral flavor.

I work my pie crust dough in two stages.  First, in a large bowl, cut together flour and lard with a pastry blender to form pea sized bits.  You can also do this with two knives, a fork or in a food processor, but the pastry blender is my favorite.

Mix other ingredients in a separate bowl, then cut into flour mix with a fork.  Work the liquids in as well as you can using the fork, then finishing the last bit of mixing with your hands to make sure the dough comes together evenly.  Shape into three even disks.  Cover and chill while you prep the filling.

Preheat oven to 375.

To prep the filling, peel and slice your apples and dip them in lemon water to prevent browning.  (Lemon water = bowl of water with about 1/4 cup lemon juice.)  Drain and pour into large bowl.  Add cranberries, toss to mix.  Set aside.

In a small bowl, mix together cane sugar, cinnamon and cornstarch until blended.  Add maple syrup and lemon juice.  Mix well.  Pour syrup mixture over apple-cranberry mix, toss to coat.

When you’re ready to assemble the pie, roll out the dough between two sheets of wax paper lightly dusted with flour, or using a pastry cloth.   Using the wax paper or cloth allows you to handle the dough more gently, avoid adding more flour and roll out the dough thinner. Make sure you roll the dough big enough to drape over the edge of the pie plate.

Pour in filling.

Before placing top crust on pie, be sure to cut some slits in the crust for ventilation, or use a decorative pie crust cutter.  place top crust on pie and crimp together edges, so they just catch on the edge of the pie plate.  This will keep your pie from shrinking down into the pie plate.  Cover edges with a pie crust shield or aluminum foil to prevent excess browning.  I also place a pie drip pan below the pie to catch any spills before they make a mess in the oven.  Dust with a sprinkle of cane sugar before placing in oven, if desired.

Bake at 375 for 40-50 minutes, until crust is lightly browned.  Cool slightly and serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream if desired.

As you can see, the combination of cranberries and apples makes a beautiful filling, and pie crust bakes up light and flaky.  The dusting of sugar adds a little sparkle in the sunlight.

Serving with a scoop of vanilla ice cream adds a nice contrast between the tartness of the cranberries and the sweetness of the ice cream.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this recipe, and that you have a wonderful holiday season.

When I was a little girl, every holiday used to mean huge family gatherings, with baking and cooking for days leading up to the event.  Mom and my sisters and I would bake about half a dozen different pies and desserts, plus kolche and rolache and Hungarian rolls.  The tiny house would be packed to the rafters with a kids’ table in the kitchen and grown ups in the living room, and people eating in shifts or grabbing any available seating to have a bite to eat.  The first meal would be served midday, with everyone visiting and snacking through the afternoon with football on TV, and another relaxed meal in the evening with the leftovers.  Many times there would be an extra person or two who didn’t have family of their own close by, and everyone was welcome.  Mom always said, “If you go away hungry, it’s your own darn fault.”

Baking always takes me back to those happy memories of working side by side with family to create a memorable feast for everyone.  Now that mom has passed, I generally cook on a smaller scale, but once in a while we’re able to gather the crew together and pull out all the stops.

Don’t forget to Pin for later, or use the PrintFriendly button at the bottom of the post to print out the recipe.

P.S. You can check out the Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers website at www.wiscran.org for more information on cranberry health benefits, their economic impact and the conservation efforts of cranberry growers.

Did you know? At the bottom of every post there is a little button that looks like a printer. When you scroll over it, it says “PrintFriendly”. This will allow to quickly and easily print all or part of any post on the site.

The post Cranberry-Apple Pie with Maple Syrup and Cinnamon appeared first on Common Sense Homesteading.