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Slice of apple cranberry pie on white plate with ice cream.

Apple Cranberry Pie

Yield: 8 slices
Prep Time: 4 hours 40 minutes
Cook Time: 55 minutes
Total Time: 5 hours 35 minutes

Ingredients

Pie:

  • 9- inch double crust pie dough
  • 4-5 medium apples, about 1.75 pounds; I use Honeycrisp, peeled, cored and sliced 1/8-inch thick (about 5-6 cups total)
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • Pinch salt
  • 1 ½ to 2 cups (170 to 227 g) fresh cranberries

Sauce:

  • ½ cup (113 g) salted butter
  • ½ cup (71 g) all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • ¾ cup (159 g) granulated sugar
  • ½ cup (106 g) light brown sugar

Egg wash:

  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tablespoon water

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place an oven rack in the middle or lower middle position of the oven. Line a large baking sheet with foil and set aside.
  • In a large bowl, toss the sliced apples with the lemon juice, almond extract and salt. Add the cranberries and toss to combine.
  • In a 10- or 12-inch skillet or small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour and whisk constantly until smooth and well-combined. Add the water, granulated sugar and brown sugar and cook at a simmer, whisking or stirring constantly, for 1-2 minutes.
  • Immediately pour the mixture over the apples and cranberries. Toss to combine. The sauce mixture may clump up a bit but it will thin out the more it is stirred together (or the longer it sits). It doesn't have to be perfect.
  • Roll out bottom crust and place evenly in pie plate (don't stretch or pull it, just lift and tuck into the pie plate). Leave a 1- to 2-inch border all the way around.
  • Scrape the apple/cranberry filling evenly into the pie plate (get all of the caramel mixture!) - try to get the apples in even layers instead of piled in at wonky angles. It will be piled pretty high; that's ok as it will cook down in the oven.
  • Roll out the top crust and place it over the filling. Trim the top crust evenly with the bottom crust (leaving about 1/2-inch overhang all the way around). Fold the bottom crust up and over evenly with edge of pie plate and press/pinch to seal. Flute the edges of the pie crust.
  • Cut four slits with a sharp paring knife in the top crust.
  • For the egg wash, whisk together the egg and water and brush a thin layer over the top and edges of the crust.
  • Place the pie on the foil-lined baking sheet (important! the filling may bubble over a bit) and bake for 65-75 minutes until the crust is golden and filling is bubbling (tent the top of the pie with foil if it is browning too much partway through baking). If you are using a glass pie plate, the bottom crust should be lightly browned.
  • Remove the pie from the oven and let cool completely, 4-5 hours (even longer is better). This is important so the pie isn't soupy. If you like warm pie, individual pieces can be warmed in the microwave or the pie can be served warm, the filling just might be a little less set.

Notes

Pie Crust: this is my favorite pie crust recipe. 
Apples: I almost always Honeycrisp apples in this pie, but you could use a different variety or a combination. Make sure to choose crisp apples that don't turn to mush when baking.
Cranberries: if you want more cranberry in every bite, you could pulse the cranberries in a food processor until coarsely chopped.