Does your family have classic holiday foods? Things you or your mom or your Aunt Gladys have been making for Christmas for years that everyone still looks forward to? (Or maybe doesn’t look forward to, depending on the dish and its maker? *cough* blueberry Jell-O salad *cough*) For our family, there are a handful of foods I’ve been making for years, even as far back as our first married Christmas eleven years ago. Back then, food blogs weren’t really a thing and Pinterest was just a glint in some now-millionaire’s eye, so people still mostly relied on cookbooks for recipes. Hard to remember that time, right?
One of my first cookbooks was one I got at my bridal shower: Betty Crocker’s Bridal Edition Cookbook. Somehow I ended up trying this cranberry apple pie from the Dessert chapter of Betty Crocker that first year of my wifehood (probably because it only calls for 6 ingredients), and it was such a hit I’ve been making it ever since. I’ve taken it to playgroup potlucks, served it for neighbors, and made it for Thanksgiving, often getting requests for the recipe. The tartness of fresh cranberries as they burst their juice onto sweet baked apples in a gift wrap of flaky crust is pretty irresistible. If you’ve got a New Year’s party you want to squeak a tasty Christmasy dessert into, here’s your chance.
Cranberry Apple Pie
(Adapted from Betty Crocker’s Bridal Edition Cookbook)
Ingredients:
2 store-bought or homemade pie crusts
1 3/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
3 c. peeled Granny Smith apples, sliced thin
2 c. fresh cranberries
2 Tbsp. butter
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line the bottom of a 9-inch pie pan with one pie crust.
- In a small bowl, stir together sugar and flour. Arrange one third of the sliced apples in a layer on the crust, followed by half of the cranberries. Sprinkle with half the sugar mixture. Repeat this process once, then add the remaining one third of the apples.* Cut butter into small pieces and dot over the top of the apples.
- Cover with the remaining pie crust, cutting slits in the top with a sharp knife to allow steam to escape. Seal and flute crust. Cover the edges of the crust with aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning.
- Bake in the preheated oven 30 minutes. Remove aluminum foil and continue to bake another 15 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Cool on a wire rack and least 2 hours.
*Note: Feel free to go easy on the sugar mixture if you prefer a tarter pie.
Serves 8.
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