Cranberry Cream Pie

 Here's one of the pies I made for Dessert Club.  In choosing my pies, rather than browsing recipes like I usually do, I thought first, "What kind of pie do I want to eat?"  Then went looking for a recipe.

I already have a great crust from Baking Illustrated, so check.  Then I remembered a disappointing pear-cranberry pie I made last year and I thought, yeah, I still really want a great cranberry pie for my repertoire.  (I knew Dave was making pear raspberry so pear was covered.)  I didn't want cranberry-sauce-in-a-crust, but I still wanted cranberry.  I mentioned this to Dave in one of our pie powow sessions and he said he just happened to have the thing.  One of his cookbooks that they have liked had a Cranberry Cream Pie, and in Cider Beans, Wild Greens and Dandelion Jelly, Joan Aller said this was a standout star on her Thanksgiving table.   

 I loved the beautiful simplicity of it - cranberries, sugar, and a little white custard.  Not only is it holiday-gorgeous (and I love that little sugary crust on top), but it is just-tart-just-sweet enough, a little creamy, and Dave liked that the cranberries remain mostly whole, so you can create your own perfect bite (with a little extra whipped cream if you need it.)  So whether it's Thanksgiving, Lefse Day (a post-Thanksgiving tradition in our family), St. Lucia Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas, Boxing Day, New Year's, the Super Bowl or even Groundhog's Day, you have plenty of chances to thrill your friends and family with this out-of-the-ordinary holiday pie.

 Cranberry Cream Pie (print recipe)

One unbaked 9-inch single pie crust
Fresh or frozen cranberries (about one 12-ounce bag, rinsed and picked over)
1 cup sugar, DIVIDED
1 heaping Tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 egg white
1 cup heavy cream

1.  Preheat oven to 425.  Spread a thick layer of cranberries in the bottom of the unbaked pie shell.  This comes to about a handful less than a full 12-ounce bag.  Cover the cranberries with 1/3 cup sugar.  (Or use all the cranberries and a little more sugar.)

2.  In a medium bowl, sift together the remaining 2/3 cup sugar and the flour.  In another medium bowl, beat the egg white until stiff peaks form, then fold it into the sugar mixture.  Slowly stir in the cream until fully incorporated. 

3.  Pour the cream mixture over the cranberries (they will float to the top.)  Bake the pie at 425 for 10 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 and bake for about 40 minutes more until the custard is set.  Let cool on a wire rack.

Recipe from Cider Beans, Wild Greens, and Dandelion Jelly: Recipes from Southern Appalachia by Joan E. Aller