In the past 5 years that I’ve been blogging, I’ve gone from wildly intimidated by pie crust to this braided + latticed beauty. It’s taken some practice and even more shriveled mistakes (literally shriveled), but I want to show you that it’s possible. And it certainly won’t take YOU 5 years to get here.
This apple cranberry pie is why I love baking (and eating!) dessert so much. Not only is apple pie my favorite dessert to eat, it’s my favorite dessert to bake. Making the dough from scratch, creating beautiful decorations for the crust, and playing around with filling flavors is the best. The entire process is almost therapeutic. Do you feel that way about baking too? It soothes my soul.
To get started, you need homemade pie crust. In the sake of time and to prevent my fingers from falling off, I won’t repeat why this homemade buttery flaky pie crust is my favorite. You could use my all butter pie crust, too. I always make the crust the night before to save time the next day. Or, better yet, make the pie crust today, freeze it, then put it in the refrigerator the night before making the pie. Save even more time later!
My number 1 tip? Keep the dough in the refrigerator anytime you are not working directly with it. So after you roll out the bottom crust and place it into the pie dish, stick it in the refrigerator. When you’re waiting for the oven to preheat, stick the whole thing in the refrigerator, etc etc.
The filling is easy and made from fresh (or frozen!) cranberries, about 3–4 apples, sugar, cornstarch, and spices. You know what pairs well with cranberries? Orange. Add a little orange zest to the pie, just like I do with another Thanksgiving classic — cranberry sauce. The flavor is unreal. For even more mass appeal, dot the filling with butter before arranging the top crust. Buttery, cinnamon-spiced, and orange-scented apple cranberry filling. ♥
You see all this? ↑ ↑ Put it in the refrigerator while you roll out the top crust.
Now, I do not expect you to make an intricate pie crust like this, but it was pretty fun! Steph, my assistant, came over and we baked this pie together. If you want to recreate this design, here’s what you need: apple cookie cutter and this ribbon cutter set. It’s actually a fondant cutter set, but works for cutting scalloped or super thin (and even!) lines in pie dough.
We used a lattice pie crust topping and braided detail. The braid is actually just placed around the edges—just slightly press it down onto the edge. We made the braid in two sections, then just placed an apple shape over where the two braids connect to hide it. (Sneaky!) Here’s my tutorial for how to braid pie crust.
If you plan to make a lattice + braid + apple shapes, I recommend having an extra pie crust on hand just to make sure you have enough pie dough to work with. You should really stock your freezer with pie dough now. You know, for braided lattice apple cranberry pie emergencies. Those exist, right?
Brush the whole top with egg wash, place the pie in the fridge while the oven preheats, then bake.
But none of this detail works unless the pie tastes good. You remember that buttery cinnamon-spiced apple orange-scented cranberry business I mentioned up there? Of course it tastes good! You’ll love how the tart cranberries balance out the sweet cinnamon apples. It’s like Thanksgiving gave you a big warm hug. And then you ate it. That was a disturbing comparison, but hopefully you get me.
If you love these flavors together in pie, you’ll love this cranberry apple upside down cake just as much! And if you’re looking for more pie inspiration, here are all of our favorite Thanksgiving pies.
Other Favorite Pie Recipes
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Apple Cranberry Pie
- Prep Time: 3 hours
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 7 hours (includes cooling)
- Yield: 8-10 servings
- Category: Pie
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Cranberries, apples, cinnamon spice, and a buttery homemade pie crust makes this apple cranberry pie one of my favorite fall recipes.
Ingredients
- homemade pie crust (my recipe makes 2 crusts; 1 for bottom 1 for top)*
- 3 large apples, cored, peeled, and sliced into 1/2-inch slices (about 6–7 cups of slices, or 750–875g)
- 1 and 1/2 cups (187g) fresh or frozen cranberries
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons (14g) cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon fresh orange zest
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 Tablespoons (30g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- egg wash: 1 large egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon (15ml) milk
Instructions
- The crust: Prepare my pie crust recipe through step 5.
- Make the filling: Stir the apples, cranberries, granulated sugar, cornstarch, orange zest, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg together in a large bowl. Set filling aside as the oven preheats.
- Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).
- Roll out the chilled pie dough: On a floured work surface, roll out one of the discs of chilled dough (keep the other one in the refrigerator). Turn the dough about a quarter turn after every few rolls until you have a circle 12 inches in diameter. Carefully place the dough into a 9×2 inch pie dish. Tuck it in with your fingers, making sure it is smooth. Spoon the filling into the crust, leaving any excess liquid in the bowl (you don’t want that in the filling– discard it). Dot the pieces of butter on top of the filling. Stick in the refrigerator until ready to cut the lattice.
- Arrange the lattice: Remove the other disc of chilled pie dough from the refrigerator. Roll the dough into a circle that is 12 inches diameter. Using a pastry wheel, sharp knife, pizza cutter, or this fun ribbon cutter, cut strips 1 or 2 inches wide. Remove the pie from the refrigerator and carefully thread the pie dough strips over and under one another, pulling back strips as necessary to weave. Press the edges of the strips into the bottom pie crust edges to seal. Use a small knife to trim off excess dough. Crimp the edges with a fork, if desired. See recipe notes for making the braid or apple shapes! (Alternatively, you can simply cover the filling with the 12-inch pie dough circle. Cut slits in the top to form steam vents. Trim and crimp the edges. Or crumble topping (from apple crumble pie) or streusel topping (from peach pecan crisp) would be great as well.)
- Lightly brush the top of the pie crust with the egg wash mixture.
- Place the pie onto a large baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Keeping the pie in the oven, turn the temperature down to 350°F (177°C) and bake for an additional 30-35 minutes. After the first 20 minutes of bake time, I place a pie crust shield on top of the pie to prevent the edges from browning too quickly.
- Allow the pie to cool for 3 full hours at room temperature before serving. This time allows the filling to thicken up. Cover leftovers tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: A couple ways to make ahead of time! Make 1 day in advance– after it cools, cover tightly and keep at room temperature. The pie crust dough can also be prepared ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Baked pie also freezes well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature before serving. Prepared filling can also be frozen up to 3 months, thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using.
- Special Tools: Glass Mixing Bowls | Peeler | Pastry Cutter | Glass Scalloped Pie Dish | Pastry Brush | Pie Crust Lattice Cutter | Fall Shapes Pie Crust Cutters
- 3 Pie Crusts: If you’d like to make the apple shapes and/or the braided edge, I recommend working with 3 pie crusts in total. 1 for the bottom, 1 for the lattice, and 1 for the braid + apples. So make my pie crust recipe twice.
- Pie Crust Apples: On a floured work surface, roll the crust out into a large circle, about 1/8 inch thickness. Using an apple cookie cutter, cut into shapes. Place directly on top of pie crust before baking OR bake separately. To bake separately, brush each lightly with the egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar (that’s optional). Place onto a parchment paper or silicone baking mat-lined baking sheet and bake at 350°F (177°C) for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove and set aside to cool before decorating pie.
- Braided Pie Crust Edge: With a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut six 14-inch-long, 1/4-inch-wide strips. Gently braid three strips. Brush edge of crust with egg wash, then carefully place braid around half of the pie and press lightly to secure. Repeat with remaining strips, then attach the two braids by pressing one into the other. Brush it all with egg wash. Here’s a video tutorial for more inspiration.
Keywords: apple cranberry pie, cranberry apple pie
Hi Sally! I love your recipes especially all your pies! One question — since fresh cranberries are hard to find and out of season after the holidays, can I substitute blueberries? Or will the consistency change? Thanks a lot!
Hi Sally, Yes, definitely! Blueberries will work wonderfully in place of the cranberries. Sounds delicious.
Thanks for publishing this recipe. I’ve always enjoyed apple pie but having made your apple cranberry pie twice in the last two weeks, I will say I will never make just an apple pie again — cranberries make apple pie the best!
Quick question: do you have a preference on which oven rack to bake this pie on?
★★★★★
Hi Donna, we’re so glad you loved the apple + cranberry combo! We typically bake the pie on the middle rack, although a lower rack can be used if you find the top browning too quickly.
Hi again: I just served this pie to my brother and his wife. This is the third time making this pie in about four weeks! They loved it as do my husband and I.
I baked the pie on the middle rack as suggested above on a sheet pan that I let heat in the oven prior to baking. I also greased my glass pie plate. My questions — should I heat the sheet pan? Do I need to grease my pie plate? I found that my crust stuck in a few places. As always, your thoughts are appreciated and your recipes are wonderful!
Hi Donna! No need to heat the sheet pan or grease your pie pan. There’s enough butter in the crust that you shouldn’t have issues with sticking. Enjoy!
This pie came out great. I wanted to do an apple pie, but wanted something a little less basic and this did the trick.
I was worried the whole cranberries would stay too tart, so I cut them in half. Though after eating the pie, I think the whole cranberries would have worked just fine.
The pie crust came out amazing as well. I substituted vodka for half the water, though I’m sure the original recipe would have worked great, too.
Thanks for the great recipe!!
★★★★★
Made this yesterday for an early Thanksgiving, and I look forward to making it again for either Thanksgiving or Christmas. Lovely holiday flavors and a great variation on basic apple pie. I did use my own crust recipe and pulsed the cranberries a few times in the food processor, which allowed their flavor to blend with the apples, rather than using whole berries, which everyone at the table agreed was the way to go. Also, I used less cloves, due to my own preference, and fresh grated nutmeg. The orange zest is a wonderful flavor melder, and a slice of this pie under a glob of French vanilla ice cream was perfect.
I have made this several times and it is delicious. This year someone else is bringing an apple pie so I am wondering if it would work if I put more cranberries and less apple?
★★★★★
Absolutely!
I’m making this pie, I followed the instructions to the letter, baking at 400 for 20 minutes, reducing heat, etc. I just checked the pie after reducing heat to 350, and the cranberries are still solid, the apples look dried out and there is zero liquid in the pie itself. What have I done wrong? Your recipe doesn’t call for any liquid…
Hi Rebecca, The cranberries will stay intact but will soften as the pie bakes (if using frozen berries it may take a bit longer into the bake time for them to soften). The apples will soften as they cook and release their juices but shouldn’t be dried out. Did you change anything in the recipe or reduce the sugar at all (the sugar keeps them nice and soft and juicy!)?
Hi! I’m from the distant, dystopian future of 2021… But I want to make this recipe for our Thanksgiving get-together this year! Lol My question is, what type of apple do you use for this? I normally bake with green apples for the tartness… but if cranberries bring the tartness in this dish, should I be using a sweeter apple? Thanks!
We’ve made this pie a couple times using a mix of Granny Smith and either Fuji or Honeycrisp. We suggest half Granny Smith and half of a sweeter variety. Hope you enjoy it!
I made this recipe using blackberries instead of cranberries for a Mother’s Day pie. It turned out wonderful. I did halve the cinnamon and omitted the cloves, and swapped the orange for lemon zest. I also added another tablespoon of cornstarch since I knew the blackberries wouldn’t gelatinize as much as cranberries. The amount lemon zest was a bit strong, but other than that, it turned out amazing! Thank you for a great recipe.
★★★★★
Came across this recipe and I’m so happy I did. This is going to be a permanent add to my Thanksgiving menu along with your whipped cream.
★★★★★
This pie came out great! The spices with the apple and cranberry made for a delicious combo of sweet and sour!
Thank you for the recipe!
★★★★★
Sally, I’m wanting to make a few 6 inch pies for Thanksgiving as we are not having guests this year due to COVID. My question is, do you think if I halved this recipe, it would work for one 6 inch pie? Thank you Sally, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Hi Debbie, halving this recipe for a 6 inch pie dish should be plenty. I’m unsure of the best bake time though. I love this idea by the way!
Thank you, Sally! I am an avid baker of all things but pie. I was one of frightened, scared ones. I have gone back and forth with using a pastry blender vs food processor. Your step by step recipe, tips, and zen energy got it this time! I had to improvise on the fly when I realized I overworked my dough for the top piece (I wasn’t feeling adventurous to try a lattice), so it became a crumble!! We haven’t tried it, it is cooling, but it smells amazing. I went with the bottom rack for the first 20, then middle for 32 minutes.
Thank you for settling me down, making the pie was fun, despite the little turn!!
★★★★★
I made this for Christmas last night and it was perfect for the occasion!! Definitely a festive pie. My parents thought it had a touch too much clove but I thought it was great. Thanks sally for helping me with Christmas !!! I had some extra filling and extra cranberries that I made into a little sauce for ice cream or pancakes or oatmeal- delicious!
★★★★★
To make this with frozen cranberries, do I need to thaw the cranberries first?
Thank you!
Bronwen
No need to thaw them first.
Hi Sally! Quick question—I’m planning to use a variant of this filling for some galettes this weekend, using your pastry recipe for the dough. Do you think that the baking time will be about the same, or do you think the changed proportions/structure will be a problem for getting the filling and crust both done optimally?
It all depends on what size your galettes are! Here is my recipe for salted caramel apple galette– you can use this as a starting place for bake time/to compare sizes/etc. Yours should be really delicious!!
Hi Sally!
Could I make this recipe but instead of a crust topping – use your crumble topping from your ‘Apple Crumble Pie‘?
YES I do it all the time– I love this pie with the crumble topping! Follow the baking instructions in the apple crumble pie. (Step 6)
Sally, I need to make an apple blueberry pie…do you think I could swap out the cranberries for blueberries with this recipe?
Yes, definitely! Blueberries will work wonderfully in place of the cranberries. Sounds delicious.
Hi Sally! Fresh cranberries aren’t so available on this side of the world (Madrid)… any ideas on how to substitute dried? I want to make this for a cake auction at my daughters school 🙂 Thanks so much!
Hi Ana! I recommend skipping the fresh/frozen cranberries, adding 1 cup of dried cranberries and adding another cup of sliced apples. 🙂
Hi Sally!
Would I be able to make this into a galette rather than a full-on pie? I’m concerned the cooking time would be too long. Any idea?
Hi Jenna, I have a few galette recipes! This would be too much filling for one galette but you can always add cranberry to my apple galette and leave off the salted caramel: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/salted-caramel-apple-galette/
Hi Sally,
I struggle with having enough crust on the sides of my pie. If I use a normal glass pie dish, 9 inches, What should be the diameter of my rolled out bottom crust? I want to allow for shrinkage but not have so much that it falls off the sides. Thanks!
Hi Megan! I always recommend rolling the bottom dough out into a 12 inch circle.
I haven’t made a fruit pie in years as I often find them shall we say lackluster. Runny filing, gummy or overbaked crust and frankly a flavor that just left me wishing that I had not even bothered. However I decided I would make a pie for the decorated crust challenge. Wow. So good here. A very holiday flavored pie. Perfect from say mid-November till year-end. It did take at least 30 minutes longer than the recipe said for it to actually finish baking (golden crust, bubbling filing) but it set up perfectly. No runny center at all.
I’m so glad you gave fruit pies another try! I LOVE this one 😉
I plan to make this Wednesday to serve Thursday. Should I put it in the refrigerator after it’s cooled or leave it on the kitchen counter at room temperature?
I’m obsessed with your site!!!!!! Please let me know
Hey Ali! Leave it at room temperature (loosely covered with foil) overnight.
This pie came out so runny…I’m not sure what I did wrong! I feel like I followed the recipe to a T. For the apples I used 2 braeburn 1 granny smith. Crust and flavor was all good, but texture of filling wasn’t right. The fruit was dry and undercooked and there was a huge amount of liquid at the bottom of the pie. Any ideas on what went wrong? I’m going to try and put it back in the oven now even though it’s already cooled..
I wonder how! There’s no added liquid to the filling– did you leave the excess liquid of the filling int he bowl when filling the pie crust?
I tried this on Saturday- AMAZING!! So wonderful, thanks for putting the recipe out there.
The first time we made this the pie was very liquidy, the next time we made it, perfection! Our apple choice was too watery for the recipe. Absolutely delicious! Have made twice in a month, can’t get enough of it!
Thank you for this awesome recipe! I made one for Thanksgiving and it was so fun and yummy!
I do have one question, the filling was very, very runny in my pie. When I put the filling into the pie crust before baking there was virtually no liquid at all. Could it have been the apples I used? (honeycrisp)
Happy Thanksgiving, Sally! I made this pie yesterday, and it was a hit for dessert today! One question I had about the filling: when I spooned the apples into the crust, they way overflowed the pie plate, so I just piled them up high and put the lattice on top. It all sank down as it cooked, but I ended up with dry apples and cranberries up top and the liquid on the bottom…should the uncooked pie filling generally be level with the top of the pie plate, or is it ok to have it higher? I’m thinking I just used too many apple slices. Thank you!
Happy Thanksgiving Catherine! I always pile them nice and high. What variety of apple did you use? Some are juicier than others which could have been the issue. Less apples could fix your issue though if you decide to try it again!
This looks absolutely delicious! What would you recommend for baking time if using mini pie dishes and what kind of apples do you use?
I’ve made this pie a couple times since I posted it– and I’ve used a mix of Granny Smith and either Fuji or Honeycrisp. I suggest half granny smith and half of a sweeter variety. For mini pie dishes, I’m unsure exactly. What are the measurements? You want a nice deep golden brown on the top crust.
I’m not a big pie baker but I’m planning to make this pie for Thanksgiving! We have an abundance of local fresh cranberries in Maine! Just one question, the directions say to turn the heat down after 20 minutes, keeping the pie in the oven, but also at 20 minutes you put the pie crust shield on. So how do you do that without taking it out of the oven? And for the first 20 minutes the pie is on a baking sheet, and so for the next 30-35 minutes is it also on the baking sheet? Thanks!
Hi Mary! You can remove the pie from the oven to place the crust shield on top, but usually I just reach in and place it on top 🙂 Leave it on the baking sheet the entire time it bakes.
Hi Jennifer! More pie dough would be helpful to have on hand. You can try making hand pies, like I did with these apple hand pies, or use a muffin pan. The bake times will be similar between the hand pies and the muffin pan pies.