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Apple Cranberry Crumble Pie

ByLaura Kasavan Updated
Jump to Recipe·★★★★★5 from 5 reviews

Apple cranberry crumble pie is a must-bake this season, with a flaky all-butter crust enveloping tender apples and cranberries. The secret to this pie is caramelizing the fruit first in a skillet with a touch of brandy and maple syrup – this step tempers the tartness of the cranberries, softens the apples, and adds dimension to the filling.

Apple Cranberry Crumble Pie

With a buttery lid of oatmeal-brown sugar crumble topping, this is one fine homemade pie to share and savor with your friends and family this Thanksgiving!

The apple cranberry filling is perfectly tender thanks to the pre-cooking step on the stovetop. Brown sugar, ground cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg bring out the balanced sweet-tart flavor of the apples and cranberries.

Love baking with apples? You may also love my skillet apple crisp recipe topped with oatmeal crumble!

Apple Cranberry Crumble Pie

How to Make Apple Cranberry Pie

The crust – My favorite pie dough is an all-butter pastry that comes together in less than 5 minutes in the food processor. You can make the crust up to 2 days in advance, and I always recommend making your crust ahead to give it time to chill for at least 1 hour before rolling out.

The crumble – My go-to crumble topping is a delicious blend of old fashioned rolled oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and cold unsalted butter. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and a pinch of salt add flavor.

To make it, mix the crumble dry ingredients in a medium bowl until completely combined. Cut the butter into small cubes, and work into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender (or clean hands) until completely incorporated and large crumbs form. Cover tightly and store in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use.

The filling – Combine sugar, brown sugar, arrowroot starch, spices, and salt in a large bowl. Melt butter in a large skillet and add cranberries and apples. Cook over medium-high heat until the apples are slightly tender and the cranberries begin to split (about 5 to 7 minutes). Add brandy and maple syrup, and cook for 1 minute. Add fruit (and any skillet juices) to the sugar mixture and toss together with a spatula to combine.

Assemble pie – Spoon apple cranberry filling into chilled crust and sprinkle evenly with crumble topping.

Bake pie – Place pie dish on a pre-heated rimmed baking sheet and bake until the topping is golden and the filling is bubbling, about 1 hour. Let cool for at least 3 hours before serving (the pie filling continues to thicken as it cools).

Serve – Slice into wedges and serve with vanilla ice cream for the perfect Thanksgiving pie!

Apple Cranberry Crumble Pie

Make Ahead Tips

The pie crust and crumble topping can be made 1 to 2 days in advance and refrigerated until ready to use. You can also bake this pie the day before Thanksgiving. Once fully cooled, store at room temperature overnight. The next day, warm in a low oven before slicing and serving.

Apple Cranberry Crumble Pie

More cranberry recipes you’ll love:

Did you try this Apple Cranberry Pie Recipe? Let me know by leaving a comment and rating below!

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Apple Cranberry Crumble Pie

Apple Cranberry Crumble Pie

★★★★★ 5 from 5 reviews
  • Author: Laura Kasavan
  • Prep Time: 2 hours
  • Cook Time: 65 minutes
  • Total Time: 3 hours 5 minutes (plus cooling time)
  • Yield: One 9-inch pie, 10 servings
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

Apple cranberry crumble pie is a favorite fall pie recipe, featuring homemade pie crust, golden crumble topping, apples, cranberries, and cinnamon spice! Serve slices topped with vanilla ice cream. Recipe yields one 9-inch pie.

Ingredients

Crust

  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
  • 2 to 4 Tbsp ice water

Crumble Topping

  • 3/4 cup rolled oats
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • pinch of nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 6 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cubed

Filling

  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tsp arrowroot starch
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1 1/4 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
  • 9 cups apples, peeled and diced
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp brandy
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp maple syrup

Instructions

  1. Prepare dough: For the crust, combine flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor. Add cubed butter and process for 10 seconds, just until the mixture resembles coarse meal. With the food processor running, add 2 tablespoons ice water in a steady stream through feed tube. If needed, add additional ice water 1 tablespoon at a time, and process just until dough holds together in large clumps (no more than 30 seconds). Wrap dough in plastic wrap and flatten slightly to form a disc. Chill in the refrigerator at least 1 hour (or up to 2 days, or place in a freezer bag and freeze up to 1 month).
  2. Prepare crumble topping: Combine oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until large crumbs form. Chill until ready to use.
  3. Roll dough: Place dough on a lightly floured work surface and dust dough with flour. Use a rolling pin to roll out dough (roll dough in one direction, then lift up dough and rotate a quarter turn and roll, then repeat) into a 12 to 13-inch circle. If dough starts to stick, use a bench scraper to lift dough from board. Transfer dough to a 9-inch pie pan (see note below); trim overhang to one inch and crimp edges. Chill in the freezer for 20 minutes. Place a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil in the oven and preheat to 350°F.
  4. Prepare filling: Whisk together sugar, brown sugar, arrowroot starch, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt in a large bowl. Melt butter in a large skillet; add cranberries and apples and cook over medium-high heat until apples are slightly tender and cranberries begin to split, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add brandy and maple syrup, and cook 1 minute more. Add fruit to sugar mixture and toss together until combined.
  5. Spoon filling into chilled bottom crust and sprinkle with crumble topping.
  6. Bake pie: Place pie dish on preheated baking sheet and bake for 60 to 65 minutes, until crumble topping is golden and filling is bubbling.
  7. Cool pie on a wire rack for at least 3 hours before serving (filling thickens as it cools). Once pie is cut, store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Notes

Pie pan: I used a 9 x 1.5″ pie pan. Depending on the depth of your pan, you may not need to use the full 9 cups of apples.

Make ahead: The pie crust and crumble topping can be made 1-2 days in advance. You can also bake this pie the day before Thanksgiving. Once fully cooled, store at room temperature overnight. The next day, warm in a low oven before slicing and serving.

Starch: Arrowroot starch is a natural thickener and creates a smooth, shiny sauce. Available online or in the natural foods section. You can also substitute 1/4 cup cornstarch.

Cranberries: You can use fresh cranberries or frozen cranberries in the filling. If cranberries are frozen, you can use them straight from the freezer without thawing.

Apples: Use crisp baking apples in the filling. I like a mix of sweet apple varieties (like Honeycrisp or Fuji) with tart Granny Smith apples for balanced flavor.

Keywords: Apple Cranberry Pie, Crumble Pie, Thanksgiving Pie

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35 Comments

  1. How long does the pie keep? Could I make it the day before thanksgiving and it still be good to go? Thx so much! Recipe looks delicious!

    Reply

    1. Hi Anne! Yes, you can absolutely bake this pie the day before Thanksgiving. Once fully cooled, store at room temperature overnight. The next day, warm in a low oven before serving.

      Reply

  2. I made this pie for Thanksgiving and it was so delicious! I’ve also made it in the past with vegan butter to make the recipe vegan and it worked perfectly as well.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    1. Hi Sheryl, I haven’t personally baked with tapioca so I’m unsure of the amount you’d need to use, but it should work as a pie thickener.

      Reply

  5. This pie turned out perfectly and we loved the crumble. I may add some pecans to the crumble next time too!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    1. I’m so glad this pie was such a success for you, Leandra! Pecans in the crumble would be delicious too. 🙂

      Reply

  6. I wish I would have taken a photo of my pie before my family and I ate it. 😭 This was the BEST pie I ever ate or made! So simple, I loved the cranberries as the gave the pie some tartness. 😋

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  7. I wanted to comment now that I’ve tried this recipe. This pie is delicious! That crumble topping really makes the pie! I stupidly did not read the last bit of instruction before putting the pie into the oven, so I forgot to add the maple syrup to the filling. When I realized the mistake (after 1 minute in the oven), I quickly pulled it out, and drizzled it over the top. I did not add brandy, and just added extra maple syrup. Despite my mistake, the pie was very yummy, and the crumble topping was especially crispy (“crispy” isn’t the right word, but I mean in it in a good way). Is that due to the maple syrup drizzle, perhaps? Either way, it was good! My husband and I loved it! This is a keeper!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  8. This pie looks so delicious, but I have a question before making it. Can I just leave out the brandy, or is there something else I could substitute the brandy for? TIA!

    Reply

    1. Hi Kristin! You can leave out the brandy altogether, or substitute with maple syrup (for a total of 3 tablespoon maple syrup). Hope that helps! 🙂

      Reply

  9. I made this pie yesterday, and it is DIVINE! I didn’t use the brandy, and I used my own piecrust recipe. Honeycrisp apples were what I chose. The topping is perfect, the filling so delicious! This pie is a keeper, for sure, thank you for the recipe!

    Reply

    1. I used your crumble topping to make an apple crisp – it was absolutely delicious. Any idea how long the (unbaked) topping keeps in the fridge – thinking about mixing up a batch and giving it as a Christmas present to someone who loves to bake. Thank you!

      Reply

      1. So glad to hear that! The topping can be made 1-2 days in advance and refrigerated in an airtight container. You can also freeze the topping for up to a month. 🙂

  19. What a beautiful pie Laura!!! Love all the flavors mingling in there + it’s gorgeous to look at!! I bet your dessert table is AHHHMAZING at Thanksgiving!! xoxo

    Reply

  20. What a totally gorgeous pie Laura! I love the mix of apples and cranberries. And that crumble topping looks divine! The more crumble, the better!

    Reply