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Cranberry Raisin Pie is a delicious option for your holiday dessert table.
Hi everyone – this is Jack. When I first set out to make this Cranberry Raisin Pie, I simply had two ideas in mind.
First, I wanted to make a delicious dessert that would be perfect for serving after Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.
Second, I wanted to use up some of the frozen cranberries we had in our freezer. When fresh cranberries are in season, we stock up and fill our freezer – then we can enjoy fresh cranberries all year long.
Then – after making this Cranberry Raisin Pie – we discovered that the mix of cranberries and raisins together in a pie is similar to what is known as a ‘mock cherry pie.’ The tart-sweet pairing of cranberries and raisins is similar to making a pie with tart cherries – which can be difficult to find. So – this ‘mock cherry’ flavor combination was created!
Some people claim that New England is home to this Cranberry Raisin Pie recipe – because cranberries are abundant in our area. Others say that mock cherry pies (with a blended fruit filling and almond extract added) originated in Canada. We flavored our Cranberry Raisin Pie filling with orange juice, vanilla and cinnamon – but you can certainly change up the flavors with other spices and extracts to suit your tastes. Either way – it will be delicious!
A sprinkle of Demerara sugar or other coarse sparkling sugar adds a golden color and a crunchy topping to the crust as it bakes.
Side note: We actually made and photographed this pie a couple of months ago before fresh cranberries were at the supermarket (such is the life of food bloggers – we work months in advance). You can buy fresh cranberries now, or buy frozen cranberries year-round to make this delicious Cranberry Raisin Pie anytime of the year.
You may like these other pie recipes:
- Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie
- Mini Cherry Almond Galettes
- Walnut Crust Pumpkin Pie
- Shoo Fly Pie
- White Christmas Pie
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Cranberry Raisin Pie
Cranberry Raisin Pie is a delicious option for your holiday dessert table.
Ingredients
1 cup granulated sugar
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
1 1/2 cups raisins
1 cup water, divided
1 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cinnamon stick
2 tablespoons corn starch
1 tablespoon butter
2 9” pie dough rounds, pre-made is fine (We used Pillsbury)
1 egg beaten
Demerara sugar, or other coarse, sparkling sugar
Instructions
In a medium saucepan place sugar, cranberries, raisins, ¾ cup of water, orange juice, vanilla, salt and the cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and cook five minutes.
Mix the remaining ¼ cup of water with the corn starch and add to the hot filling and cook one minute until thick. Remove from heat and stir in the butter.
Cool the filling to at least room temperature. Remove the cinnamon stick and discard.
Place one pie dough round in a 9” plate and press into bottom and sides being sure that there are no cracks. Let the dough overhang the sides.
Pour the cooled filling into the prepared pie plate.
Using a brush, brush water on the edge of the pie dough in the plate and on the edge of the pie dough on your counter. Pick up the pie dough on your counter and invert it so the wet edge faces down and place over pie.
Take that top pie dough and fold the edges under the first so that the wet edges adhere together and press all the way around.
Using your thumb and index finger on one hand and the knuckle of your index finger on the other, squeeze the edge together to make a decorative edge. Place the pie into the refrigerator for at least one hour to firm up the crust. (If you skip this step, the edges will flop down during baking)
After the pie has chilled, preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Mix the egg with a teaspoon of water and brush on the top of the dough but not the edge.
Sprinkle the Demerara sugar over the top.
Use a paring knife and make eight slits around the top crust with a small hole in the center. Try to make the slits consistent for decorative purposes. The hole and slits help the steam escape during baking.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until browned. If the top browns too soon, cover with foil and continue baking.
Cool to room temperature before cutting.
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Can i make the filling ahead and freeze it for a week or two?
Hi Heather – We haven’t tried doing so ourselves, but I don’t see a reason why it wouldn’t work.
Would this be a good recipe to make ahead and serve the following day? And how would you keep it overnight – fridge, counter, covered, uncovered?
Hi Alena – This pie would be fine baked a day ahead of time. I would chill it overnight, although you do want to serve it at room temperature so remove it from the refrigerator ahead of time. As long as it is completely cooled before chilling, you should be OK covering it with plastic wrap.
Do you think this could be made without the top crust?
I suppose it could. The crust absorbs some of the liquid but on the other hand, without a crust, the filling may release more steam. My only concern would be how thick the filling would be after baking and if it would hold together when cut. If you try it, let us know.
Since I am the only one in my family that would eat this, how long do you think you should bake “mini-pies” using the same ingredients and pie crust? I would be making them in a mini-pie pan and baking in the oven.
Thank you very much.
Hi Ginny – I can only guess since we haven’t made this pie ourselves in mini pie tins (plus, I’ve seen two different sizes of mini pie tins so that will have an impact as well). But either way, I’d start at 10 to 15 minutes and the keep checking every 5 minutes or so until the filling is hot and bubbly and the top is golden. Hope that helps!
I have a question. Just before you instruct to place the bottom crust in the pie plate, it says to preheat oven to 400*F. Then it moves on about adding the filling, topping the pie with the top crust and then refrigerating for an hour, and then preheating oven to 425*F, and then baking. So my questions is why the first preheat at 400*F with no instruction of baking and then a second instruction of 425* for baking. Is 425*F the correct temperature for baking the pie?
This is Jack. I just looked at my original hand written recipe and I made the same mistake there and copied it through to the post. The 400 degree F preheat is a mistake. Will go in now and fix. Thanks for catching that.