Apple Cranberry Pie
This Apple Cranberry Pie layers tart cranberries, cinnamon-spiced apples, and a flaky golden crust for the ultimate cranberry apple pie recipe your whole table will love.
A Cranapple Pie Worth Baking Twice
There is something magical about the moment tart cranberries meet sweet, cinnamon-spiced apples in a flaky, golden crust. This Apple Cranberry Pie, sometimes lovingly called Cranapple Pie, is the pie I make every single fall when the first cranberries hit the store shelves. It is a little jammier than a classic apple pie, a little brighter, and it fills the kitchen with the kind of smell that makes people wander in from the next room asking what is baking.
If you love a Cranberry Apple Pie Recipe that actually holds together in neat slices instead of collapsing into a puddle, you are in the right place. This one is built for that.
Before we get cooking, the right tools and ingredients make a real difference here. A good rolling pin, a sturdy pie dish, and fresh, tart cranberries will make your Fresh Cranberry Apple Pie taste like it came from a bakery case instead of a rushed weeknight attempt. Here are a few things worth having on hand.
Why This Apple Cranberry Pie Filling Works
The secret to a great Apple Cranberry Pie Filling is balance. Cranberries are wonderfully tart but can overwhelm a pie if you do not counter them properly, so this recipe leans on:
- Two kinds of sugar for depth, granulated for brightness and brown sugar for a caramel-like backbone
- Orange zest to echo the natural pairing of cranberries and citrus
- A touch of nutmeg alongside the classic cinnamon for warmth without overpowering the fruit
- Flour as a thickener so your Cranberry Apple Pie Slice holds its shape instead of sliding apart
Chef's Tip: Let your sliced apples and cranberries sit in the sugar mixture for 10 to 15 minutes before filling the crust. This draws out some juice, which you can lightly drain off, preventing a soggy bottom crust later.
Choosing the Right Apples
Not all apples behave the same way in the oven. For this Apple And Cranberry Pie, firmer, tart-leaning varieties hold their structure and balance the sweetness of the sugar and the tartness of the cranberries beautifully. Granny Smith is the classic choice, but Honeycrisp or a mix of both gives you a lovely contrast of soft and slightly crisp bites throughout the pie.
Avoid overly soft apples like Red Delicious, since they tend to break down into mush during the long bake time and can leave your filling watery instead of pleasantly jammy.
A Note on the Walnuts
The chopped walnuts in this recipe are optional, but if you have made an Apple Cranberry Walnut Pie before, you already know what a difference that toasty crunch makes against the soft fruit filling. Toast them lightly in a dry skillet for a few minutes before folding them in, it wakes up their flavor significantly.
Building Your Pie, Step by Step
Once your filling is mixed and your crust is chilled, assembly comes together quickly. Whether you go with a classic vented top crust, a woven lattice for a showstopping Apple Cranberry Slab Pie style presentation, or a simple crumb topping, the technique underneath stays the same.
Ready to make it? Here is the full step-by-step recipe:
Apple Cranberry Pie
This Apple Cranberry Pie layers tart cranberries, cinnamon-spiced apples, and a flaky golden crust for the ultimate cranberry apple pie recipe your whole table will love.
Ingredients
- 2 pie crust, store-bought or homemade, for a double-crust 9-inch pie
- 6 cups apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced, Granny Smith or Honeycrisp
- 2 cups fresh cranberries, rinsed and picked over, fresh or frozen
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/8 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 3/8 cup all-purpose flour, or cornstarch, for thickening
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp orange zest, freshly grated
- 1 tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional, toasted
- 1 large egg, beaten, for egg wash
- 1 tbsp coarse sugar, for sprinkling on top, optional
Instruction
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) and place a rimmed baking sheet on the lower rack to catch any drips.
Roll out one pie crust and fit it into a 9-inch pie dish, trimming the excess and leaving a slight overhang. Chill in the fridge while you make the filling.
In a large bowl, toss the sliced apples and cranberries with granulated sugar, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, orange zest, and lemon juice until evenly coated.
Fold in the chopped walnuts if using, then pour the filling into the chilled crust, mounding it slightly in the center. Dot the top with the cubed butter.
Roll out the second crust and place it over the filling, either as a full top crust with vents cut in, or as a lattice. Trim and crimp the edges to seal.
Brush the top crust with beaten egg and sprinkle with coarse sugar for a golden, glistening finish.
Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees F, then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and continue baking for 30 to 35 minutes, until the crust is deep golden and the filling is bubbling.
If the edges brown too quickly, loosely tent them with foil for the remaining bake time.
Cool the pie on a wire rack for at least 3 hours before slicing to allow the filling to set.
Equipment
- 9-inch pie dish
- Rolling pin
- Large mixing bowl
- Rimmed baking sheet
- Wire cooling rack
- Pastry brush
Notes
Serving and Storing Your Cranberry Apple Pie
Patience really is the hardest part of this recipe. Cutting into a warm pie feels irresistible, but slicing too early means a runny, uneven filling. Let it rest on a wire rack for at least three hours, or even better, overnight, so the filling has time to fully set.
Serve each Cranberry Apple Pie Slice slightly warmed or at room temperature, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream on top. The contrast of warm spiced fruit and cold cream is honestly hard to beat.
To store: cover loosely and keep at room temperature for up to two days, or refrigerate for up to five. This pie also freezes well, both baked and unbaked, making it an easy make-ahead option for busy holiday baking schedules.
Chef's Tip: If you are baking this for a holiday table, assemble it the night before, refrigerate it unbaked, and pop it straight into the oven the next morning. Your kitchen will smell incredible right when guests start to arrive.
However you slice it, this Apple Cranberry Pie is the kind of dessert that turns a regular afternoon into something worth gathering around.
