Deep Dish Cranapple Pie
Submitted by Flgramma
Deep dish cranapple pie with sliced apples and whole berry cranberry sauce under decorative pastry cutouts. Spiced with apple pie spice and orange zest for a festive holiday dessert.
YIELD
1 piePREP
20 minCOOK
50 minREADY
1 hrsSeven cups of sliced apples mixed with whole berry cranberry sauce and baked under golden pastry cutouts. This deep dish pie skips the bottom crust entirely, so all you taste is fruit and spice.
The cranberry sauce does triple duty. It sweetens the filling, adds tart bursts of whole berries, and creates a jammy sauce as it bakes down around the apples. Orange zest and apple pie spice warm up the mix without overpowering the fruit.
Instead of a traditional top crust, you roll the dough out and cut shapes with cookie cutters. Arrange them overlapping across the top, brush with egg yolk wash, and sprinkle with sugar. The cutouts bake up golden and crisp with a nice sugar crackle. Cover the edges with foil for the first 25 minutes so they don’t burn while the filling bubbles.
Pro Tips
- Use firm, tart apples. Granny Smith or Honeycrisp hold their shape during the long bake. Soft apples turn to sauce.
- Overlap the pastry cutouts. Gaps let too much steam escape and the filling won’t thicken properly.
- Bake until bubbly. If the filling isn’t actively bubbling, the flour hasn’t activated and the filling will be runny when you serve it.
- Let it cool 15 minutes before serving. The filling firms up as it cools. Scooped straight from the oven, it’s soup.
Variations
- Pear-persimmon version: Swap apples for sliced pears and cranberry sauce for chopped persimmons. Increase sugar to ½ cup.
- Streusel top: Skip the pastry cutouts and top with a brown sugar, butter, and oat crumble instead.
- Ginger twist: Replace apple pie spice with 1 teaspoon ground ginger for a sharper, spicier bite.
Ingredients
Directions
In mixing bowl stir together ¼ cup sugar, flour, apple pie spice (or ¼ teaspoon nutmeg), and orange peel.
Stir in cranberry sauce.
Add apples; toss to coat fruit.
Transfer to a 10-inch deep-dish pie plate or a 1½ quart casserole.
On lightly floured surface, flatten dough.
Roll from center to edges, forming a 14 inch circle.
Using cookie cutters, cut desired shapes from pastry, rerolling and cutting trimmings as necessary.
Arrange cutouts atop fruit mixture.
In small bowl, stir together egg yolk and water; brush onto pastry cutouts.
Sprinkle with 1 tablspoon sugar.
To prevent overbrowning, cover edge of pie with foil.
Place on baking sheet.
Bake in 375℉ (190℃) oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes more or until top is golden, apples are tender, and filling is bubbly.
Use a spoon to serve warm or cool with ice cream, if desired.
NOTE: For Pear-Persimmon Deep-Dish Pie, prepare pie as directed, except increase sugar to ½ cup.
Substitute 7 cups sliced, peeled pears for the apples and 2 cups chopped, peeled persimmons for the cranberry sauce.
Serve as directed.
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