Hello Lovelies.

Welcome to the first installment of Cooking around the World. I’ve decided to start with what I know and get back in touch with my roots as the Michigan Mama by sharing my favorite Apple-Cranberry Pie.

Yes friends. I just made a fall pie in the spring. All I can say is that my apple trees are in full bloom and I got a little over excited.

MY CHEATS

• I use a Pillsbury premade pie crust. It saves me time, bakes nicely and is only slightly less buttery than my homemade crust.
• Frozen cranberries are a great substitute when you can’t find fresh in the store, but you need to completely defrost them. Then put the cranberries into a pot and stir in 2 TBSP of cornstarch. Heat them over medium low heat until jammy.

APPLE-CRANBERRY PIE

INGREDIENTS

• 2 Pilsbury refrigerated pie crusts
• 5 cups peeled, cored, and sliced Honeycrisp apples
• 2 cups fresh cranberries, or jammy cranberries from frozen
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)
• Granulated sugar (for sweetening the crust)
• Vanilla ice cream (for serving)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 425-degrees F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sliced apples and cranberries. Then, sprinkle in the granulated sugar, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and lemon juice. Toss everything gently to make sure the fruit is well coated with the sugars and spices.
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one of the pie crusts and place it into a 9-inch pie plate. Press it gently to fit into the plate, making sure to cover the bottom and sides.
4. Pour the fruit mixture into the crust, spreading it out evenly. Then dot the filling with small pieces of butter so it melts into the fruit while baking.
5. Cut the second crust into strips to make a lovely lattice top. Seal the edges between the top and bottom crust with your fingers or a fork.
6. Brush the top of your crust with the beaten egg and sprinkle a little granulated sugar over it, which will give it a beautiful finish once baked.
7. Put your pie plate on a baking sheet and then bake the pie at the high temperature of 425-degrees F for the first 15 minutes. Then, reduce the temperature to 350-degrees F and continue baking for about 40-50 minutes, until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbly. Cover the the edges with foil if the crust is browning too quickly.
8. Once baked, remove the pie from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack for at least 2 hours.
9. Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Makes 8 servings

This may not be my healthiest recipe, but it is authentic. I love visiting cider mills in the fall and picking cranberries at DeGrandchamp farm. I foresee this pie being featured in a Thanksgiving recipe roundup in November.

Happy baking.

Kristie