Lisa Ludwinski’s Cranberry Crumble Pie
Makes one 9-inch pie
We use cranberries from Cheboygan, Michigan. They’re sold in 12-ounce bags at most supermarkets during the fall and winter season. It also may be possible to find unbagged cranberries at your local farmers’ market or grocery store. While rinsing, be sure to sort the cranberries as well and remove any that appear mushy or dark. The first two components of this recipe—the compote and the crumble—can be made up to 4 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator until you’re ready to make the pie.
Asking me which pie is my favorite is like asking me if I’d rather dance to New Order or Mariah Carey—it’s impossible to choose. But if I had to pick just one pie, it’d be this Sister Pie classic, because it lives up to my formula of what creates the ultimate pie experience: flaky, all-butter crust meets the tartest fruit in season plus a buttery, brown sugar crumble topping. It features tart Michigan cranberries in two ways: first we cook them down into a compote and then we mix in more cranberries, sugar, and spice. The whole darn thing is topped with the aforementioned crumble, and we’re in (best pie) business.
Image Credits
Photo by E.E. Berger
Ingredients
For the cOMPOTE
- 12 ounces cranberries, rinsed and sorted
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
- ¾ teaspoon grated orange zest
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice
For the CRUMBLE
- 1 cup rolled oats
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (1¼ sticks) unsalted butter, straight from the fridge
For the FILLING
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ cup tapioca starch
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 8 ounces cranberries, rinsed and sorted
- ½ Bosc or D’Anjou pear, peeled and grated
- 2 tablespoons cream cheese, at room temperature
- One 9-inch crust made with All-Butter Pie Dough, blind baked and cooled
- 1 large egg, beaten
- Vanilla ice cream, for serving (optional)
Method
- First, make the compote: Combine the cranberries, brown sugar, and orange zest and juice in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook over low to medium heat until the cranberries begin to burst. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool completely (or set in the freezer for a quick chill) while you continue to work. This compote can be made up to 4 days in advance and stored in the fridge until you’re ready to use it.
- Next, make the crumble: In a mixing bowl, combine the oats, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt. Place the butter in the bowl and coat on all sides with the flour mixture. Take a bench scraper and cut the butter into ½-inch cubes directly into the flour mixture in the bowl. Work to break up the cubes with your hands until they are lightly coated with the flour mixture. Continue to use the bench scraper to cut the cubes into smaller pieces—the idea is that you are cutting each cube in half.
- Switch to a pastry blender, and begin to cut in the butter with one hand while turning the bowl with the other. It’s important not to aim for the same spot at the bottom of the bowl with each movement, but to actually slice through butter every time. You’ll need to clean out the pastry blender every few turns of the bowl. Once most of the butter is incorporated, use your fingers to fully break down the butter until it is no longer visible. Be careful not to overwork the mixture at this point. The crumble can be completed up to 4 days ahead and stored in the fridge.
- When you’re ready to bake the pie, preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Make the filling: In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, tapioca starch, and salt. Add the cranberries, pear, and cooled compote and use your hands or a wooden spoon to mix completely.
- Assemble and bake the pie: Using a small offset spatula, evenly spread the cream cheese on the bottom of the pie shell. Brush the crimped edge with the beaten egg. Layer the cranberry mixture on top of cream cheese—it should be evenly spread up to the bottom of the crimps. Carefully cover the fruit with the crumble topping, leaving a small hole in the center of the pie to serve both as a steam vent for the fruit as it cooks and as an indicator of when the pie is done.
- Place the assembled pie on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Transfer the baking sheet with the pie on it to the oven and bake for 60 to 70 minutes, until the pie juices are beginning to bubble in the center and the crumble topping is a uniformly deep golden color.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and transfer the pie to a wire rack to cool for 4 to 6 hours. When the pie is at room temperature, slice it into 6 to 8 pieces. Serve with a big scoop of classic vanilla ice cream (technically, it’s not my favorite pie unless it’s served this way).
- Store leftover pie, well wrapped in plastic wrap or under a pie dome, at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Divider
Reprinted with permission from Sister Pie: The Recipes & Stories of a Big-Hearted Bakery in Detroitby Lisa Ludwinski, copyright (c) 2018.Published by Lorena Jones Books, a division of Penguin Random House, Inc. Images copyright © by E.E. Berger
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