Cranberry Apple Crumble Pie

Kickstart the holidays with this Cranberry Apple Crumble Pie recipe. Spiced apples and tart cranberries mingle with oat streusel and a flaky buttermilk crust for a sweet slice of heaven. Serve it for breakfast or your Thanksgiving buffet, just be sure to serve it with a melty scoop of ice cream.

My oven is like a magician’s hat, you never know what’s going to come out of it. Last year my Thanksgiving turkey came out upside down. That was embarrassing. Not for me, for the turkey. When flipped right side up the skin was whiter than mashed potatoes. Luckily we live in Florida so I just plopped the bird on a chaise lounge by the pool and let it tan without sunscreen before serving.

Fortunately, what came out of my oven today was much prettier than an albino turkey. Since the clock’s ticking closer to Thanksgiving 2020 every second, I’m already obsessing about pies. It’s still October, I know. But if you tried a bite of this Cranberry Apple Crumble Pie, you’d be just as impatient as me to make it.

The anatomy of this pie begins with a flaky buttermilk crust filled to the brim with crisp apples, fall spices and fresh cranberries. Adding the buttery oat crumble then baking until it’s bubbly hot takes this fruity combo to the next level.

Trust me, your holiday table is begging for a pie with bright red cranberries and cinnamon spiced apples. Skip the cornucopia this year and consider this colorful pie an edible centerpiece. Then gobble it up before your gluttonous cousin goes back for thirds.

Before sharing the recipe for Cranberry Apple Crumble Pie, here are a few tips and tricks to help you out:

Ingredient Tips and Tricks

This recipe uses a mixture of Honeycrisp and Granny Smith apples for a balance of sweet and tart.

Fresh cranberries are highly recommended but frozen would also work in a pinch. Defrost, drain and pat dry before use to avoid excess moisture making the pie soggy.

Preparation Tips and Tricks

Use a slotted spoon to transfer fruit filling to pie plate then discard all excess liquid from the fruit filling mixing bowl. After pie has baked, cool at room temperature for 3 hours to allow filling time to thicken.

Peek through your oven window after the first 30 minutes of baking. If pie edges are overbrowning then cover with aluminum foil or a pie crust shield for the remaining time.

Make Ahead Tips for Cranberry Apple Crumble Pie

Pie can be made ahead and frozen up to 3 months. After baked pie cools completely, wrap tightly with plastic wrap then with aluminum foil and freeze. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.

Pie can be made ahead one day. Cool completely, cover and store at room temperature before serving.

I hope you enjoy this Cranberry Apple Crumble Pie recipe. Please leave a comment and a rating at the bottom of this blog post when you try it for yourself. And, while you’re at it, sign up for my weekly Recipe Newsletter so you never miss a tempting recipe.

Finally, if you love baked apple desserts check out my recipe for Jumbo Muffin Tin Apple Pies. Fresh, crisp apples are coated with dulce de leche then baked in a jumbo muffin tin to yield petit pies that are perfect for fall.

Cranberry Apple Crumble Pie

Heather Wolf

Kickstart the holidays with this Cranberry Apple Crumble Pie recipe. Spiced apples and tart cranberries mingle with oat streusel and a flaky buttermilk crust for a sweet slice of heaven. Serve it for breakfast or your Thanksgiving buffet, just be sure it's served with a melty scoop of ice cream.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 3 hours hrs

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 4 hours hrs

Course Crisps and Crumbles, Pies and Tarts

Cuisine American

Servings 8

Equipment

• 9 inch pie plate
• Food Processor

Ingredients

  

Pie Crust

• 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour chilled
• 1/2 tsp sea salt fine
• 1 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter very cold and cubed
• 2 Tbsp buttermilk plus extra if needed

Crumble Topping

• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter softened and cubed
• 3/4 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour unbleached
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar packed
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp sea salt fine

Fruit Filling

• 1 lb Granny Smith apples cored, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch slices
• 1 lb Honeycrisp apples cored, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch slices
• 1 cup fresh cranberries rinsed and dried
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice freshly squeezed
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar packed
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 3 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp sea salt fine
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter cubed

Instructions

 

Pie Crust

• Chill flour in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
• Chill cubed butter in freezer for 30 minutes.
• Add flour, salt and sugar to food processor.
• Add chilled butter then pulse until butter is the size of small peas.
• Drizzle in buttermilk and pulse until mixture begins to clump.
• If dough does not hold its shape when pinched together add buttermilk one teaspoon at a time until it reaches the correct consistency.
• Shape dough into a ball on a floured surface then flatten into a disk.
• Cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour. (My dough chilled for 3 hours).

Crumble Topping

• Add all ingredients for the crumble topping to a medium bowl and combine with a fork until crumbly and butter is pea-sized. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Fruit Filling

• Add all filling ingredients to a large bowl and stir until evenly combined. Set aside.

Assembly

• Remove dough from refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 15 minutes.
• Roll out dough on a floured surface, rotating a quarter turn after each roll of the rolling pin until dough is 12 inches in diameter. Gently drape dough into pie dish, trim and crimp edges.
• Using a slotted spoon to drain liquid, fill pie dough with fruit filling. Discard excess liquid from filling bowl.
• Refrigerate unbaked pie for 30 minutes.

Bake

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking pan with aluminum foil and place in oven while it preheats.
• After pie has chilled for 30 minutes, remove from refrigerator and sprinkle top with crumble mixture until fruit is evenly covered.
• Place pie dish on preheated baking sheet and bake for 60 minutes or until crumble is golden brown and fruit filling is bubbly hot.
• Place pie plate on a wire rack for and cool for 3 hours. Filling will thicken while cooling.
• Cut pie into slices and serve plain or with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.
• Cover and store any leftovers in the refrigerator up to 5 days.

Keyword apple, cranberry, crumble, pie