There is no doubt about it, my Mom's Best Apple Pie is a real favorite pie for us to enjoy at this time of year. We live in the beautiful Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia and this is a prime apple growing region. Mom made the best apple pies, having learned how to make them from her mother and her mother before her.
We loved her pies. I love this time of year when the apple crops are coming in fast and furious. Walking into the local farm markets the smell is gorgeous. They smell of fresh apples and pumpkins, squashes etc. Its quite heady.
We also have a cranberry bog not too far down the Valley from us and they are coming into the farm markets now as well. It seems to be only a natural thing that we would be baking Cranberry & Apple Pies this time of year.
Here in Canada, next weekend is Thanksgiving and this would be a beautiful pie to serve for that occasion. How much more thankful can we get than to have one of these tasty pies on our table!
I say, Pumpkin Pie move over! There's a new pie in town!
With its tender and flaky buttery and lard pastry and its sweet/tart fruity filling, this is a real family pleaser of a pie. The filling itself is flavored with maple syrup, orange zest and some warm baking spices. Cinnamon and cloves.
Between that buttery flaky crust and moreish fruity filling, this is a pie you can really be proud to serve. How much more Canadian can you get! Apples. Cranberries. Maple!!
The smell when it is baking is unreal and that taste, well, it is totally unbelievably delicious! You have the option of adding some toasted walnuts to the filling if you wish. You can also opt for a streusel topping if you would rather that than an actual top crust.
My family? We always leave out the nuts and go for the top crust! We are crazy for crust!
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE CRANBERRY & APPLE PIE
Simple store cupboard and fresh ingredients. This pie spells AUTUMN in a very big way!
For the pastry:
- 2 cups all purpose flour (280g)
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup butter (76g)
- 1/3 cup lard (or white vegetable shortening) (74g)
- 5 to 6 tablespoons of ice water
- 5 - 5 1/2 cups (625g - 680g) peeled, cored and sliced apples
- 2 cups (212g) of fresh or frozen cranberries
- 1/2 cup (57g) chopped walnuts (optional)
- 1/3 cup plus 2 TBS (79g) sugar
- 1/4 cup (60ml) maple syrup
- 1 1/2 TBS lemon juice
- the finely grated zest of one orange
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 2 TBS cornstarch (corn flour)
- milk and sugar to glaze (optional)
Butter and lard make the best pastry. There is just no comparison. The two fats create a pastry that melts in the mouth.
Apples and cranberries are perfect partners. They have a beautiful balance of tartness and sweetness. I used Gravensteins. They are a great cooking apple with a lovely flavor.
You can, of course use frozen cranberries if you need to. You don't need to thaw them out first. They tint the whole filling a lovely ruby color.
HOW TO MAKE CRANBERRY & APPLE PIE
I usually make my pastry the night before I make this pie. That makes for a much quicker, smoother process when it comes to actually making the pie. That is just my opinion of course!
To make the pastry:
- To make the pastry, mix flour with salt, and cut in butter and lard, until you have pieces of fat in the flour about the size of peas. (Use a pastry blender or two round bladed knives.)
- Add ice water, one TBS at a time, tossing it in with a fork until pastry comes together. Shape into a ball and cut in two pieces. Form each piece into a round flat disc. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (Or overnight.)
- If you chill the pie crust overnight, take it out of the refrigerator about 1 hour prior to baking.
To make the filling and the pie:
- Mix the apples, cranberries, walnuts (if using) and 1/3 cup (67g) of the sugar together in a large bowl. Leave to macerate for 10 minutes.
- Stir the maple syrup, lemon juice, grated zest, cinnamon and cloves into the apples. Mix the remaining sugar together with the cornstarch in a small bowl. Stir this into the fruit.
- Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Line a large baking sheet with some baking paper.
- Roll half of the pastry out on a lightly floured countertop to a round that will fit into a 9 1/2 inch deep pie dish. (about 13 inches in diameter) Place the pastry carefully into a 9 1/2 inch deep pie dish, knocking gently with your knuckles so that it fits into the sides with a bit of an overhang. Place onto the baking sheet.
- Turn the fruit filling into the pie, and smooth it out a bit. Lightly moisten the rim of the bottom crust.
- Roll the remaining half of the pastry into a round large enough to cover the pie. Carefully place it on top of the filling to cover it completely, pressing around the edges to seal. Trim any over hang to 1/2 to 3/4 inch. Flute or crimp the edge as desired.
- Cut some vents in the top crust. Brush the top with milk and sprinkle with sugar.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375*F/190*C/ gas mark 5. Rotate the pie 180 degrees. Bake for a further 30 to 40 minutes, until golden brown and the juices are bubbling up through the vents.
- Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool for at least an hour prior to serving. Cut into wedges to serve. A scoop of vanilla ice cream goes very well on top of this!
If you can, you can leave off the top crust and top it with a Oatmeal crumb topping. For that you will need:
(Makes enough for 1 large pie with some leftover)
1 cup (140g) all purpose plain flour1/2 cup (40g) large flake oats2/3 cup (147g) soft light brown sugar, packed1/4 tsp salt1/4 tsp ground cinnamon1/2 cup (115g) cold butter, cut into pieces
To make the streusel combine the oats, flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon in a food processor. Pulse once or twice to combine. Drop in the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
This can be sprinkled over the top. (You will probably have some leftover) Press the crumbs down gently on top of the pie and bake as per the recipe below.
If you think the crumbs are getting too dark, cover lightly with a piece of aluminum foil.
This is quite simply a beautiful pic. Prepare to fall in love with how the tart cranberries balance out the sweetness of everything else, and that orange zest. Oh my my . . . combined with the cinnamon and cloves, a purely unbeatable combination!
This is a pie to write home about. There is no two ways about it. I really hope you will want to bake it at least one during these autumn months! And do remember, it is the PERFECT pie for the holidays!
I have a lot of pie recipes here in The English Kitchen. Here are a few other ones that you might enjoy!
QUEBECOISE SUGAR CREAM PIE - A sweet and delicious pie which hails from the French speaking region of Quebec. This is one of my father's favorite pies. The filling is thick and rich and sweet. It is meant to be eaten in thin slices. A piece of this pie is a little taste of heaven!
CREAM AND CRUMB SCHNITZ PIE - An old Mennonite recipe for a single crust pie that uses a rich streusel crumb in several elements of the filling. Half are mixed with cream and poured over top of the apples in the base of the pie. The remaining crumbs are sprinkled over top like a streusel. The end result is a piece that is so delicious that words cannot explain it! This is one of our family's favorite pies!
Yield: 8 - 10 servingsAuthor: Marie Rayner
Cranberry & Apple Pie
Prep time: 1 H & 25 MCook time: 1 H & 10 MInactive time: 1 HourTotal time: 3 H & 35 MTis the season for this delicious pie, made with local Annapolis valley cranberries and apples! If you make the pastry the night before it comes together fairly quickly.Ingredients
For the pastry:- 2 cups all purpose flour (280g)
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup butter (76g)
- 1/3 cup lard (or white vegetable shortening) (74g)
- 5 to 6 tablespoons of ice water
- 5 - 5 1/2 cups (625g - 680g) peeled, cored and sliced apples
- 2 cups (212g) of fresh or frozen cranberries
- 1/2 cup (57g) chopped walnuts (optional)
- 1/3 cup plus 2 TBS (79g) sugar
- 1/4 cup (60ml) maple syrup
- 1 1/2 TBS lemon juice
- the finely grated zest of one orange
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 2 TBS cornstarch (corn flour)
- milk and sugar to glaze (optional)
Instructions
To make the pastry:- To make the pastry, mix flour with salt, and cut in butter and lard, until you have pieces of fat in the flour about the size of peas. (Use a pastry blender or two round bladed knives.)
- Add ice water, one TBS at a time, tossing it in with a fork until pastry comes together. Shape into a ball and cut in two pieces. Form each piece into a round flat disc. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (Or overnight.)
- If you chill the pie crust overnight, take it out of the refrigerator about 1 hour prior to baking.
- Mix the apples, cranberries, walnuts (if using) and 1/3 cup (67g) of the sugar together in a large bowl. Leave to macerate for 10 minutes.
- Stir the maple syrup, lemon juice, grated zest, cinnamon and cloves into the apples. Mix the remaining sugar together with the cornstarch in a small bowl. Stir this into the fruit.
- Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Line a large baking sheet with some baking paper.
- Roll half of the pastry out on a lightly floured countertop to a round that will fit into a 9 1/2 inch deep pie dish. (about 13 inches in diameter) Place the pastry carefully into a 9 1/2 inch deep pie dish, knocking gently with your knuckles so that it fits into the sides with a bit of an overhang. Place onto the baking sheet.
- Turn the fruit filling into the pie, and smooth it out a bit. Lightly moisten the rim of the bottom crust.
- Roll the remaining half of the pastry into a round large enough to cover the pie. Carefully place it on top of the filling to cover it completely, pressing around the edges to seal. Trim any over hang to 1/2 to 3/4 inch. Flute or crimp the edge as desired.
- Cut some vents in the top crust. Brush the top with milk and sprinkle with sugar.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375*F/190*C/ gas mark 5. Rotate the pie 180 degrees. Bake for a further 30 to 40 minutes, until golden brown and the juices are bubbling up through the vents.
- Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool for at least an hour prior to serving. Cut into wedges to serve. A scoop of vanilla ice cream goes very well on top of this!
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