Cranberry Pecan Streusel Crunch Pie
I am a New England girl. I am more specifically a Massachusetts girl. Give me my glorious western mass mountains, rotaries, the turnpike, the cape, the fact that I can be in Vermont in an hour, and all the glory that goes with the Patriots, the Celtics, the Bruins, and the Red Sox. Ok, so I am not a big sports fans, but I can name key players and read a twitter feed to follow games, so who is any wiser? (Oh wait, just shared that on my blog…)
Cranberries!
Something that every New Englander can hopefully know is the harvesting of a cranberry bog. These little power houses of antioxidants are amazing in their chambered, floating figures of bright red goodness. It is a fall tradition, to flood the bogs, set those babies free, and corral them into their futures as cranberry juice, cranberry sauce, Craisins, and of course, to be sold as is in the stores.
Cranberries, Orange Zest and Sugar
If you are not from New England, in the world of YouTube and other internet wonders, you too can witness a cranberry harvest, but there is nothing like actually being there. It’s cooler weather, the leaves are starting to turn, cider and cider donuts are happening, typically there is a festival one weekend, and you think to yourself, “Hey, we are known for this! This is a very cool New England thing.”
Does everybody love the cranberry? No. Some people like it with their booze (Hello Cape Codder), some people like it for health reasons. I’m just a fan. Thus, this pie for the holidays.
Look at how pretty they are. All nestled in sugar and with orange peel.
Cranberries Pie Filling
This pie is so beautiful color wise, and it is paired with a pecan oat streusel that is just sweet enough and just crunchy enough to balance the tart of the cranberries. The original recipe is found on the www.smittenkitchen.com website.
The filling is partially cooked on the stovetop, and the combination of the pectin in the cranberries with the cornstarch make for a tight filling that packs a punch flavor wise. It is not cranberry sauce in a pie crust at all.
The streusel crust combines oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, pecans, and is pulverized to make a crumbly but consistent texture. I processed mine quickly so the little bits of pecan and oats were identifiable without being dominant. This may, in fact, be my new favorite streusel topping. I may just try this on top of muffins or crisps in the near future.
Cranberry Pie
After the cranberry filling is partially cooked and the streusel is prepped, it is as easy as assembling the layers and popping it in the oven.
You know when you have to wait for something special and you wait and wait and wait? I got these pie crust punch cutters in my Christmas stocking last year and have waited all this time to use them.
I made an extra pie crust just for the decorative edges on this year’s pies and was I ever happy. I rolled the pie crust into the pie plate, and instead of pinching the edges, I cut and attached the pretty leaves on the outside rim.
Cranberry Pecan Streusel Crunch Pie
Of all the pies this past holiday held, this was the one I chose for dessert. Just enough tart and sweet, crunch and chew, and balance between the flaky pie crust, crumble of the streusel, and consistency of the cranberries. Topped with a dollop of fresh homemade whipped cream, I was a happy girl.
There seems to be a common thread in my life these days of balance, between the sweet and the not so sweet, the blessings and the sorrow, and the fine line to keep solid between the two.
In this daily journey, I am thankful for the sweeter side of things, for the smell of cinnamon and the beautiful colors around me. I am thankful to live in a part of the world where every fall the mountains burst with colors, and the cranberry bogs fill with tiny chambered floating fruit, bobbing along their flooded homes to make their way into this special dessert for my family.
Every day is a gift.
I hope you enjoy this recipe, and as always, thank you for coming to the table!
Chrissy
Click below for a printable recipe.
PrintCranberry Pecan Streusel Crunch Pie
This pie combines the jewel like color and tart flavor of cranberries, orange zest with a pecan oat streusel topping. It is a perfect balance of tart and sweet, crunchy and chewy and flaky!
Ingredients
- 1 Unbaked Pie Crust
Cranberry Filling:
- 4 1/2 Cups of Fresh Cranberries (original recipe said you can use frozen- I did not).
- 1 Cup White Granulated Sugar
- Orange Zest from one Orange OR 2 Clementines (I like the taste of orange and cranberry so I add more)
- 1/8 Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Tablespoon of Cornstarch
Streusel Topping:
- 2/3 Cup Rolled Oats
- 1/2 Cup Flour
- 1/3 Cup White Granulated Sugar
- 1/3 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
- 1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 1/4 Teaspoon salt
- 3/4 Cup Pecan Pieces
- 6 Tablespoons Butter, melted and cooled
Instructions
For Cranberry Filling
- Combine cranberries, orange zest, sugar, cornstarch, salt in a saucepan over medium heat and begin to cook. Some of the cranberries will pop or leak juices, which is perfect. Continue to stir and cook for approximately 5-7 minutes. Allow filling to cool slightly. (I waited about 10-12 minutes).
- Pour cooled filling into pie shell.
For Streusel Topping:
- Using a food processor, grind oats and pecans for a coarse grind, add additional ingredients except butter. Pulse processor to combine all streusel ingredients.
- Combine Streusel ingredients with melted and cooled butter until crumbled in texture.
- Sprinkle topping over cranberry filling.
Bake pie for 50 minutes or more or until the cranberry filling is bubbling up through the streusel topping. If pie crust begins to brown too much while filling is cooking, cover edges of pie with foil to protect from burning.
Notes
While cooking this pie, I erred on the side of longer, waiting for the cranberry filling to really bubble up through the streusel topping. It did mean my cooking time was longer, but the result was worth the wait. The cranberries cooked down but retained their consistency, the crumble topping browned nicely, and it was all over a beautiful pie to cut into!