Chef notes
Cranberries add tangy flavor and a gorgeous holiday color to classic apple pie.
Ingredients
- 2 disks Buttery Pastry Dough
- 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- Pinch of ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 5 Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch wedges
- 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch wedges
- 1/4 cup fresh cranberries
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, thinly sliced
- About 1 teaspoon whole milk
- 2 teaspoons raw or granulated sugar
- Vanilla ice cream, for serving
Preparation
Position one rack in the lower third of the oven and a second rack just above it. Set a baking sheet on the bottom rack. (Being near the heat source will help the bottom crust bake and brown properly. The baking sheet will catch any bubbled-over juices.) Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
In a large bowl, whisk the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt together. Add the apple wedges and cranberries and mix to combine.
Unwrap the larger disk of dough (recipe here), set it on a floured surface, and lightly dust the top of the dough. Roll out the dough into a 13-inch round, occasionally rotating the dough and dusting it with flour to prevent sticking. Brush away the excess flour and transfer the dough to a 9 1/2-inch glass pie plate, centering it in the pie plate and letting the excess dough hang over the edges. Lightly press the dough into the dish. Refrigerate the pie shell.
On the floured surface, roll out the other disk of dough into a 12-inch round. Using a large knife, cut ten 1-inch-wide strips from the dough round.
Transfer the apple filling to the pie shell, then scatter the butter on top. Arrange the dough strips over the filling, forming a lattice (see “How to Lattice” below). Trim the dough overhang to 3/4 inch. Pinch the bottom crust and strips together and fold the overhang under. Crimp the edges to seal. Lightly brush the lattice with the milk and sprinkle the remaining 2 teaspoons sugar over it.
Bake the pie on the rack above the baking sheet for 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake the pie for about 55 minutes longer, or until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling. Let the pie cool on a wire rack until warm.
To serve:
Cut the pie into wedges and serve with ice cream.
How to lattice:
The word “lattice” refers to the strips of pastry woven together to create the top crust. Once you get going, latticing is a pretty simple technique, and it’s fun to do. If weaving feels a bit intimidating, though, just lay half of the strips across the pie parallel to each other, then lay the remaining strips across them, perpendicular to the bottom strips. Don’t worry if your strips aren’t perfect — all the more handmade charm.
Here’s how to form a woven lattice: Lay half of the strips across the filling, spacing them evenly. Fold back every other strip; then place another strip perpendicular at the folded edge of the strips. Unfold the folded strips so they lie over the perpendicular strip. Fold back the other set of strips. Stopping about 1 inch from the first perpendicular strip, place a second perpendicular strip at the folds, and unfold the folded strips. Repeat with the remaining 3 pastry strips to cover the pie with the lattice.
Cheater’s Lattice: Just lay half of the strips across the filling, spacing them evenly over the pie. Lay the remaining strips perpendicular to the first strips, spacing them evenly apart.
