Cranberry Pie: the best recipe for a much-loved holiday dessert recipe

Cranberry is a fall favorite and there's no better way to enjoy this tart berry than to make a classic homemade cranberry pie. Cranberry pie has a wonderful sweet-tart flavor that makes every bite an absolute delight. The filling is juicy and perfectly sweet, while the from-scratch pie crust is beautifully buttery and flaky.

Classic cranberry pie is super easy to make and doesn't require too much work. The hardest part of making cranberry pie is waiting for it to cool once it's out of the oven! If you want to serve a delicious dessert that's festive but a little different than your usual pumpkin or apple pie, cranberry pie is perfect for you especially during holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas.

How to Make Cranberry Pie

To make the perfect homemade cranberry pie, you'll need a flaky, buttery pastry crust. Put the flour, sugar, shortening, butter, and salt into a food processor. Give it a few pulses until the mixture takes on a similar texture to coarse wet sand. Pour in the ice-cold water one tablespoon at a time. You may not need too much, so just use enough to form the dough. Shape the dough into a ball then roll it into a disc. Wrap it in cling film and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. You can make the dough up to a day or so in advance.

While the dough is chilling, toss the cranberries and sugar in a large bowl and leave the mixture to sit for 1 hour. After the dough has chilled, roll it out and put it in your pie dish. Crimp the edges and put it in the fridge for another half hour or so.

Now it's time to make the filling. Pour the orange juice, cornstarch, flour, salt, orange zest, ginger, and vanilla over the cranberries. Stir it well, then pour the cranberry mixture into a pot and simmer it until it thickens slightly. Put the filling into the pie crust and bake it for 10 minutes at 450F, then for another 20 minutes at 350F. Once the pie is out of the oven, let cool on a rack for at least 4 hours before cutting and serving it.

How to Tell When Cranberry Pie is Done

Your cranberry pie is done baking when the filling is bubbly away and the crust is golden brown. This usually takes about 30 minutes, including 10 minutes at 450F then another 20 at 350F. After coming out of the oven, cranberry pie needs to cool down for at least 4 hours.

Tips for the Best Classic Cranberry Pie

If you don't have fresh cranberries, you can use thawed frozen ones instead.

You can make the pastry crust up to one day in advance.

You can swap out the pastry crust for a graham cracker crust.

Cut out pieces of pastry with a cookie cutter to decorate the top of the pie. If you want to do this, double the pastry recipe.

Bake the pie on the shelf in the lower third of the oven.

If the pastry is browning too quickly, tent foil over the edges.

To make a crustless cranberry pie, mix the ingredients for the filling with 1 cup of flour and bake for 40 minutes.

Filling Variations for Cranberry Pie

Jazz up your pie by adding extra ingredients like chopped nuts such as pecans, walnuts, or almonds, add some chopped apples, dates, or other dried fruits.

How to Serve Classic Cranberry Pie

Serve your homemade cranberry pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a generous dollop of whipped cream.

How to Store Cranberry Pie

Cover or wrap the pie in cling film or foil, then pop it in the fridge and enjoy it within 5 days.

Can You Freeze Cranberry Pie?

You can definitely freeze cranberry pie. Wrap the pie in cling film then freeze it for up to 2 months.

More Recipes You'll Like

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Cranberry pastry

Cranberry pistachio biscotti

Instructions

Put the flour, sugar, shortening, butter, and salt into a food processor. Blend until the mixture takes on the texture of wet sand. Add the water in one tablespoon at a time until a dough forms.

Turn the dough out and roll it into a disc. Wrap it in cling film and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Toss the cranberries and sugar in a large bowl and leave for 1 hour.

After the dough has chilled, roll it out so it's about 12 inches in diameter. Lay it in a pie dish, then cut off the excess pastry, making sure to leave about 1 inch hanging over the edge of the dish. Shape it in a fluted pattern, then place the crust back in the fridge for 30 minutes. Preheat your oven to 450F.

With excess pastry make some leaves for decoration.

Bake the leaves for about 5-8 minutes or until golden brown.

Take the cranberries.

Pour the cornstarch and flour over the cranberries.

Add in the orange juice.

Pour the salt, orange zest, ginger, and vanilla over the cranberries. Stir.

Pour the cranberry mixture into a pot. Simmer over medium heat until the mixture thickens, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Transfer the cooked cranberry mixture to the pie crust. Spread it evenly.

Bake for 10 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350F and bake for 20 minutes more. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack for at least 4 hours.

Add the leaves for decoration.

Garnish with some fresh cranberries.

Slice, serve and enjoy!

Notes

When making the pie crust, use cold ingredients. This will help make the pastry ultra-flaky.