If you’re looking for something a little different this year, try my recipe for World’s Best Cranberry Pecan Pie! Tart, fresh cranberries and orange zest help to balance out the sweetness of classic pecan pie. If you don’t have fresh cranberries, you could use frozen. You could even use dried cranberries, but the flavor wouldn’t be quite as tart. I would opt for fresh or frozen.
Cranberry Pecan Pie before baking.
This makes a pretty, festive pie…the perfect centerpiece for your holiday dessert table! Try placing 3 pecan halves around a cranberry before baking for a nice design in the middle of the pie. If you need help finding a good pie crust recipe, try one of mine. I have one made with all butter and a touch of buttermilk, and an old fashioned “diner style” flaky crust made with shortening. See the how-to videos below.
Don’t be afraid to bake the pie long enough. Mine usually bakes for over an hour at 325 degrees. Anywhere between 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes. The filling will puff and crack as it bakes, then settle in as it cools for a nice texture. I’ve never had to use pie crust shields when baking at 325 degrees, but all ovens are different, so keep an eye on the browning.
Every Thanksgiving and Christmas, I’m in charge of making the pies. I made my first pie crust at age 7. Pecan Pie was 9and still is0 one of my favorite pies, so at a young age, I learned how to make them. I loved working with dough and making pastry, so Mama let me take over that job. I’ve been making pies ever since and love it!
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World's Best Cranberry Pecan Pie
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1 1/4 c. all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 1/4 c. buttermilk (see notes for substitutions)
Filling:
- 1 c. sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 c. corn syrup or honey
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1 c. chopped pecans, plus a few pecan halves for decoration
- 4 Tbsp. melted butter
- zest of one orange
- 1 c. fresh cranberries
Instructions
For the crust:
- In a mixing bowl, blend together the flour and salt.
- Add chilled butter cubes to flour mixture, toss with blending fork. Cut the butter into the flour until mixture resembles pea sized crumbles. (This can also be done in a food processor, but I've had better results mixing by hand with a blending fork.)
- Drizzle in the buttermilk, and mix into a ragged dough. Try not to over mix. Gently press together and form into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes, or overnight.
- On a floured surface, roll dough slightly larger than a standard 9in. pie plate. Transfer to pie plate, flute edges (see video), and refrigerate while you mix the filling.
For the filling:
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together sugar and eggs.
- Add corn syrup or honey, and whisk well. Mix in salt. Add pecans, melted butter, orange zest. Mix together. Stir in cranberries.
- Pour into a standard size unbaked pie shell.
- Bake in preheated 325 degree oven for 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes. Keep check on browning. The pie will puff and start to crack. That's what you're looking for. The pie will settle in as it cools. Cool completely before serving. Enjoy!