My entire life my lovely mother, Judy Swanson, has been a baker and pie maker. Every holiday it was a different type of delicious crave-worthy dessert ranging from cheesecake so rich your lips fall off from puckering too much, to pumpkin pie that’s better than Costco (say it isn’t so!?), to peanut butter bars that literally make my mouth water as I type this, and to “Judy’s Nuts,” which are show-stopping sugar covered walnuts.
But nothing was more popular with the family than our favorite Thanksgiving sweet Cranapple Pie. Now, lucky for you cranberries and apples each possess “nutritional” qualities that make them great and together they offer a balance of sweet and tart (two of my favorite words). Why the “” you ask? Well, because the nutritional value is overshadowed by the fact that we add 2 cups of sugar, BUT the sugar brings out all of the “super” in these super fruits, so you’re good!
Basically, to boil it down, this pie is freakin’ good, so we shot this quick video to share the recipe and share the love.
RECIPE
INGREDIENTS:
- 2X – Trader Joe’s pie crust – ain’t nobody got time to make a pie crust from scratch no more
- 5 Granny Smith green apples
- 2 Cups frozen cranberries
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 TBSP tapioca
- 3 TBSP butter
- ½ TSP salt
- ½ TSP cinnamon
STEPS:
- Preheat the oven to 425˚.
- Prepare the lower rack of the oven (pies need to go on the lower rack) with a cookie shoot or tray (pies overflow a bit, which tells you they are done and the rack saves you from cleaning the oven)
- Roll-out the crust and let it come to room temperature
- Place one crust on the bottom of the GLASS pie pan
- Poke it with a fork along the bottom several times
- Prepare the ingredients:
- Mix Sugar, Tapioca, Salt, and Cinnamon in a mixing bowl and put to the side
- Peel and slice your apples using an apple peel – see the video for help!
- Take your frozen cranberries out of the freezer, but DO NOT bring them to room temperature
- Place half of the sliced and peeled apples into the bottom of the pie
- Mix in half of your cranberries
- Slide your butter into chunks and add 1.5 TBSP’s of butter
- Sprinkle in half of your dry ingredients on top of the apples, butter, and cranberries
- Repeat the same procedure with the remaining apples, butter, cranberries, and dry mix
- Cover your pie with the second pie crust and pinch the edges sealing it well – see the video for help
- Sprinkle some sugar on top and cut four slits in the top of the pie crust
- Bake:
- Bake for 15 minutes at 425˚
- Lower the temperature to 350˚
- Bake for an additional 50 minutes or until the pie is brown and some of the juices are bubbling and coming out the sides
- Let the pie cool for 60 minutes before enjoying
I truly hope you enjoy this Swanson family recipe and wish you and your family a wonderful holiday season.
BONUS – Here’s Judy on Tastemade baking the pie herself!
