This recipe for Apple Cranberry Crumb Pie puts a twist on a classic American pie. Spiced flavors and crunchy cinnamon topping makes it one special dessert. Served warm, all it needs is some whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream.
I know a lot of people think apple pie is for Thanksgiving (and it is), but to me, this pie is Christmas on a plate. I have a Christmas candle that’s called ‘Red Apple Wreath’ which to me smells like Christmas. I burn is all December long, and when I bake this pie, the house is filled with the same warm scent and the taste is truly a comforting delight.
With a recipe that calls for six medium apples and a cup of fresh cranberries, this is a generously sized pie. It’s flavored with cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice mix, and fresh orange zest. To me, cranberry and orange make a wonderful flavor combination that just marries the rest of the flavors together – And the cinnamon crumb topping really is the ultimate finish.
This Cranberry Crumb Pie bakes up so beautiful, you can display it proudly on your Christmas dessert table as a centerpiece.
To make it, start with the crust. You can use store-bought, but I always recommend homemade. To make your own, you can see my post on How To Make Pie Crust. I make mine in a food processor keeping it really simple.
Take the prepared dough out of the fridge 10 minutes before rolling it out and lining a pie plate (or tart pan like mine) and place it back in the fridge to remain cold while you prepare the filling.
To make the filling, mix the apples, cranberries, granulated sugar, brown sugar, melted butter, spices, orange juice, and flour together in a large bowl. Set aside and prepare the crumb topping
To prepare the topping, add all of the ingredients together until it has the appearance of large bread crumbs. You know it’s ready when you pinch it between two fingers and it stays together instead of crumbling apart.
Add the apple mixture over the dough in the pan.
Take handfuls of the topping, squeeze together and crumble it over the apple mixture until you have used all the crumb mixture.
Bake for 1 hour (checking after 30 minutes to see if the topping is getting too brown – if so, cover with foil before baking for the remaining time).
Allow to cool 45 -60 minutes before serving.
Serve and enjoy every last bite.
Baking tip:
To keep the crust from shrinking in the pan, keep the dough in the fridge any time you are not working with it. So for example – After you roll it out and place it into the pan, put it back in the refrigerator and leave it while you’re preparing filling and crumb topping.
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Let's Make Apple Cranberry Crumb Pie
Ingredients
- 1 package rolled refrigerated unbaked pie crust (1 crust) see notes for homemade recipe
For the filling:
- 6 Medium Cooking Apples (About 2 1/4 lbs) sliced
- 1 tablespoon orange juice fresh squeezed
- 1 teaspoon orange zest grated
- 1 cup cranberries fresh
- 1 tablespoon butter melted
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar packed
- 3 tablespoons flour
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon ground
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice (UK Mixed Spice)
For The Topping:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon ground
- 8 tablespoons butter chilled and cubed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F. Let the pie crust stand at room temperature according to package directions. Unroll pie crust into a 9-inch pie plate. Place into the plate without stretching it. Crimp the edges. Place in the fridge while you prepare the filling and topping.
For the filling:
- After slicing the apples, coat in the fresh-squeezed orange juice. Mix in the cranberries and orange zest, followed by the melted butter. Set aside.
- In a small bowl mix together the sugars, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and pie spice. Sprinkle over the fruit mixture and stir to coat. Set aside.
For the topping.
- Place all of the ingredients into a food processor and mix until it resembles large breadcrumbs (see photo in post).
To assemble the pie:
- Remove the crust from the refrigerator and fill with the apple mixture.
- Using large handfuls, squeeze the topping together and then crumble onto the fruit filling until all of the topping mixture is used.
- Bake one hour (checking after 30 - 40 minutes to see if the topping is too brown - if so, cover with foil for the remainder of the bake).
- Let cool on a wire rack 45 minutes before serving
Becky Moen says
Divine! Amazing flavors that blend together so well. Will be making it again soon!
Erren's Kitchen says
I’m so pleased you liked it Becky 🙂