Cranberry-Orange Pie with Cornmeal Streusel Topping

There’s been a literal deluge of pies around the blogosphere lately. Have you noticed? Everywhere I look I am tempted by the flaky crusts, fruity fillings and creamy toppings that are coming out of kitchens from coast to coast. It’s a wonderful thing.

One scroll through my friend Cheryl’s ‘Love the Pie‘ link up from last week will make your head spin; nearly one-hundred and seventy scrumptious pies are represented. That’s a lot of pie love.

Here at Simple Bites, we’ve contributed our fair share of seasonal pies this fall – and we haven’t stopped yet. In fact, I’ve been saving the best for last. Today’s Cranberry-Orange Pie with Cornmeal Brown Sugar Streusel is easily the best pie I’ve eaten all year.

For the love of fruit pies, in particular, cranberry

I should follow the bold statement above with the disclosure that fruit pies hold a special place in my heart and always have. I don’t gravitate toward the coconut creams or peanut butter extravaganzas, just give me a simple plum tart or something of the sort and I’m happiest.

Fruit pies have a beautiful way of following the seasons. Tangy strawberry-rhubarb leads the way in spring, sultry peach follows during the hot summer months, and autumn brings an array of pumpkin, sweet potato, apple and pear.

Fresh, whole, local cranberries are available at my grocery store and local markets from October through January, making them an ideal fruit to capitalize on when all other berries are expensive and imported. Marry your cranberries with pears and stew them into a compote, simmer them into a sauce for your Christmas dinner, but please, I insist: be sure to try them in this pie recipe.

Cranberry-Orange Pie with Cornmeal Streusel Topping

Since my pre-teen years of pie making, I've adapted my cranberry pie to feature a streusel topping instead of a lattice crust. I'm smitten with the rustic slightly crunchy cornmeal streusel and it's so simple to pull together and garnish the pie. I probably don't have to tell you, but this tangy pie is best enjoyed with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
4.84 from 6 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Desserts
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 1 pie
Calories: 3001kcal
Author: Aimee

Ingredients

for the filling:

  • 4 cups fresh cranberries washed
  • zest of 2 oranges
  • juice of 1 orange
  • 1 cup Turbinado sugar or brown sugar
  • 3 Tablespoons salted butter melted

for the streusel topping:

  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup cornmeal or polenta
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup salted butter cubed and cold

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F.
  • In a large bowl, toss cranberries with orange zest, orange juice, sugar and melted butter. Pour into pie shell.
  • In a food processor, combine flour, cornmeal, brown sugar and butter. Pulse for a minute or so until combined. Scatter cornmeal streusel evenly over the top of the cranberry pie filling.
  • Place pie on a baking sheet (to catch any drips) and place on the middle shelf of the oven.
  • Bake for about 40 minutes or until the pie is bubbling around the edges and the topping is a dark golden brown.
  • Remove cranberry pie from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature before serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 3001kcal | Carbohydrates: 455g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 131g | Saturated Fat: 81g | Cholesterol: 334mg | Sodium: 1164mg | Potassium: 953mg | Fiber: 28g | Sugar: 327g | Vitamin A: 4345IU | Vitamin C: 115.8mg | Calcium: 223mg | Iron: 7.2mg

 

What is your favorite flavor of fruit pie?

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Recipe Rating




28 Comments

  1. No, no, no! I already have five pies picked out for Thanksgiving…but this one looks too good to pass up 🙂 Have you tried the browned butter-brown sugar-buttermilk custard-type pie from the last Everyday Food?? You must 🙂

  2. This looks wonderful! I definitely want to give this a try. I agree that cranberries and orange are a match made in heaven. Love the tart-sweet combo and I’m intrigued by the cornmeal crunch topping – great idea. Thank you for the recipe!

  3. My favorite pie is a pumpkin praline pie. Pumpkin pie is great, but when topped with pecans & brown sugar it is even better. My favorite fruit pie is a pear cranberry pie.

    I’m a sucker for anything cranberry, so the recipe above really speaks my language! Yummy!

  4. 5 stars
    While I have to be honest and say Nan’s Kahlua and Lemon Meringue hold very special spots in my heart, this pie is really tugging at the heart (and stomach) strings too!

    Blackberry pie is my ultimate fruit pie though. Nan grew them, and we got maybe one pie a year, plus a few hand pies. Her blackberry pie was spectacular with a little vanilla bean ice cream on top. I can taste it now!

  5. Favorite pie = fruit, all flavors. I have a bag of frozen cranberries – will that work for this recipe?
    Definitely want to try it.

  6. I made this pie for Thanksgiving and the taste was INCREDIBLE. I think I will try a different top crust, though; I used polenta, which I think is too grainy (at least the brand I bought), whereas corn meal would have had a finer texture. I may try it with that lattice crust, that would look superb. Either way, the taste of this pie will make it a regular at holiday time. Thanks Aimee!

  7. 5 stars
    Made this pie at Thanksgiving and it got rave reviews, so I’m making it again today for Christmas! 🙂 Thanks for the great recipe!

  8. 5 stars
    Easiest pie to make! Smells and looks delicious, making it ahead to serve on Christmas day dinner. As per Aimee’s suggestion, will be reheating in oven 10 min prior to serving it to get a crispy topping!

    Thanks for this! 🙂

  9. 4 stars
    Add more cranberries(I halve my cranberries when baking, too)…. mix in a tablespoon of flour into the topping and a half cup of chopped walnuts…you won’t be sorry.

  10. Not kidding that this is best enjoyed with a scoop of ice cream. I found it to be intolerably sour. I ended up with a stomach ache from the acidity.