Cranberry Apple Pie- Double Crust

I baked this pie in 2021. I have baked it several times since, but I never blogged it. These photos are from 2021. I am finally getting to it! I think I like cranberries in pies because they give such a yummy tartness like Rhubarb. They tint the apples a pretty blush pink that is so lovely.  So pretty for a festive table. There are a lot of photos, so the recipe is right after this next photo.

Cranberry Apple Pie

1 double-crust pie dough, nine-inch

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon reserved for top of pie

3 tablespoons butter, salted

pinch of salt

1/4 cup orange juice, zest first and set zest aside

4 medium-sized tart apples, peeled and sliced (about 6 cups sliced)

1/4 cup cornstarch, or all-purpose flour

2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, reserve 6 or so berries for garnish(optional)

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon apple pie spice; Penzey's has a great one

2 tablespoons butter, cubed

1 tablespoon heavy cream

1. Place one pie crust in the bottom of a deep dish 9-inch pie plate; leave enough crust on the edges to crimp later. Place in fridge to chill.
2. Stir brown sugar, sugar, butter, salt, and orange juice into a pot over medium-high heat. Stir until the sugars are dissolved.
3. Toss apples and cranberries in cornstarch or flour, orange zest, and spices. Add to the pot. Cook until the mixture has slightly thickened and the apples are just getting soft, they will continue to cook in the oven.  Remove from heat and set aside. (Cooking the filling is optional; you can mix all the filling ingredients together. Reserving the butter. Place mixture into an uncooked pie crust, then dot with cubes of butter. I like my apples a little more tender and find that I can control how watery the filling is by cooking first.)
4. Preheat oven to 425* F.  
5. Roll out the second pie crust. Cut strips for a lattice, or use cookie cutters to cut out some shapes to vent the dough. 
6. Remove the pie plate from the fridge and fill it with pie filling. Dot with 2 tablespoons of cubed butter.
7. Place the top crust on the pie and crimp the edges. I do my lattice work on the pie as opposed to placing the assembled lattice on the pie.
8. Brush the top crust with heavy cream, and sprinkle sugar on top. Place reserved cranberries between the weaving of the lattice. (or in the cutouts if you used a cookie cutter)
9. Place pie on a rimmed cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Then turn the oven down to 350*F and bake until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. 45minutes to 1 hour. Make sure to shield the crust if it is getting over-browned.
10. Let cool before serving.

You can see my apples are not mushy and really cooked, but the filling is not watery. 

For ease, I like to roll my pie crust between two sheets of parchment. Once rolled out, I can place the whole thing in the fridge to chill if it's getting too warm. 

For this pie, I braided some of the lattice pieces.

Wonky, but it's all done. 

Baked up beautifully.

Thank you for visiting this little blog.