This Pear Cranberry Pie has the perfect contrast of sweet pears and tart cranberries, all encased in a flaky and buttery pie shell. The beautiful lattice crust with maple leaf designs make this a spectacular centerpiece for all your holiday dinner parties.
If you’re looking for a new Thanksgivings pie recipe, look no further! Even though this is not your traditional Apple Pie or Pumpkin Pie, this pear cranberry pie recipe will quickly become your go-to holiday pie recipe because it is both beautiful and delicious, a must-have for any holiday celebrations.
Table of Contents
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Impress your guests – You too can create this beautiful work of art to grace your Thanksgiving dinner table. It’s easier than it looks, I promise! This post will show you exactly how to make this beautiful pear cranberry pie.
- Unique flavor – Sweet pears combined with tart cranberries, and warm apple pie spice gives this pie a unique flavor that still has that cozy Autumn’s vibe.
- Perfect for Fall and Winter holidays – This pie is the perfect dessert for all your holiday gatherings. It’s beautiful and delicious and everyone will love it!
Tools you’ll need
You will need most of the following tools to make this cranberry pear pie recipe.
- A food processor or stand mixer to make the all butter pie crust but you can also make it by hand.
- A 9-inch deep dish pie pan for baking your pie.
- A rolling pin – I like French rolling pins for their tapered edges, which allows for more control when rolling out the dough.
- A pizza wheel makes cutting strips of dough for the lattice crust very easy.
- Maple leaf pastry stamp for the pie crust decorations. Or you can use other Fall or Thanksgiving inspired shapes.
- A pastry brush to brush egg wash on top of the crust.
Ingredients and substitutions
As always, you’ll find the complete list of ingredients and quantities in the recipe card at the end of this post. Below are some notes and substitution tips:
- Flour – all purpose flour will work just fine for the pie crust. But you can use pastry flour if you wish; pastry flour has a lower protein content which will yield a more tender crust.
- Sugar – I use 2 types of sugar in this recipe: granulated sugar in the crust, and raw cane sugar in the pie filling and on top of the pie. If you don’t have raw cane sugar, you can substitute brown sugar in the filling and either turbinado sugar or sanding sugar for sprinkling on top of the pie.
- Salt – For both the pie crust and the cranberry pear pie filling, salt is added to round out the flavor. Don’t skip the salt as it adds complexity and enhances the flavor of desserts.
- Butter – I use unsalted butter for the pie crust. You can substitute salted butter if you’d like, just make sure to skip the salt called for separately.
- Water – I use cold water to bring the pie dough together. You only need to use just enough to hydrate the dough, too much water will make the pie dough too soft. You could also use some sort of alcohol instead of water instead. Alcohol inhibits gluten formation, so it would make the pie crust even flakier.
- Pear – Choose pears that are ripe but firm. I use D’Anjou in this recipe but you can go with any variety you prefer.
- Cranberries – You’ll use fresh cranberries and cook it down to a sauce with some of the sugar. You can also use cranberry sauce as a substitution. Remember that if you use cranberry sauce, it will replace the fresh cranberries as well as part of the sugar used for the filling.
- Orange – Both orange juice and orange zest are used in the pie filling to add a bright sweet flavor. The acidity in the orange juice will also keeps the pears from oxidizing and turning brown.
- Tapioca flour – thickens the pie filling. You can use cornstarch as well if that’s what you have on hand.
- Apple pie spice – adds warmth and so much cozy Fall’s vibe. Feel free to use store bought or homemade.
- Egg wash – This is made with a whole egg and a tablespoon of water, beaten together. Brushing egg wash over the top crust gives your pie a golden brown sheen once baked. You’ll also use it as “glue” for the maple leaf decorations.
How to make pear cranberry pie with a lattice crust
The following instructions, step-by-step photos, and tips are here to help you visualize how to make the recipe. You can always skip straight to the printable recipe card at the end of this post.
Make the pie crust
I have a more detailed post on How to make Pie Crust, not just 1 but 3 different ways. Alternatively, you could substitute store bought crust to save time. You may need up to 3 batches of pie dough for the bottom crust, lattice top crust and the maple leaf decorations.
Mix together flour, sugar, salt and work the cold butter into the mixture quickly as not to melt it. Drizzle in cold water to bring the dough together and shape into a disk. Rest in the refrigerate for at least 1 hour before rolling out.
Tip: Repeat this step for the second and third batch of pie dough. Making pie dough in smaller batches makes it easier to handle and you’ll get better dough consistency.
Once the dough is ready, roll one disk out and shape it in your pie pan, lay the edge flat, trim off excess but don’t throw it out if you’re planning to use it for the maple leaf decoration. Wrap the pie dish up and refrigerate or freeze.
Tip: You don’t need to flute the edge, just lay it flat to allow the lattice crust to sit on top.
For the second disk of pie dough, roll it out and cut with a pizza wheels into 12 strips about 1″ to 1 ¼” in width, and 12″ in length, just long enough to drape over the top of the pie. Lay them on a parchment line baking sheet and refrigerate or freeze until you are ready to assemble the pie.
Tip: If you don’t have room in the refrigerator or freezer, you could wait to cut out the strips when you are ready to assemble the lattice top crust. But try to keep things cold throughout the process.
Gather any excess dough you may have from the previous steps, form into a ball, and roll it back out, stamp out maple leaves or any other shapes you want to use. Freeze them until ready to assemble.
Tip: You’ll need about 35 leaves to make the exact design I have. If you have a little less, you can still cover the edges. If you prefer a fuller leaf design, you may want to have a third batch of pie dough, or use excess dough from a previous recipe.
Make the cranberry pear pie filling
First, the cranberries need to be precooked into a sauce to reduce its tartness. Then, dice the pears into bite-size cubes and add to a medium bowl with the cranberry sauce, sugar, salt, tapioca flour and apple pie spice mixture, orange juice and orange zest. Mix well.
Tip: If you have leftover Thanksgiving cranberry sauce, you could use 1 cup to replace the fresh cranberries and ¼ cup of sugar. Both the jelly and the whole cranberry sauce should work but I would definitely recommend the whole cranberry sauce.
Assemble cranberry pear pie
When the oven is preheated and ready to go, take the bottom pie crust out of the freezer. Brush the inside surface of the pie crust with beaten egg white and add the prepared pear cranberry pie filling.
Tip: The protein in the egg white will keep the bottom crust from getting soggy when baked.
Brush the edge with egg wash and then add the top lattice crust over the pie filling. 12 strips of dough, 6 placed horizontally and 6 placed vertically, arranged carefully into a lattice. Trim the excess dough off for a clean edge.
Arrange maple leaves around the edge if desired to add a finishing touch to this beautiful pie. Use egg wash on the back of the maple leaves as glue to stick them to the pie crust.
Tip: If you don’t want to add maple leaves, you can simply crimp the edge or flute it for a more simple finish.
Note: The edge of this pie can be burned easily in the oven as it contains exposed edges of the pie dough, both the bottom crust and the lattice strips, and all the maple leaves. It is necessary to use a pie crust shield to protect the edge from burning.
Place the pie on a large baking sheet and wrap a thin strip of foil around the pie dish to cover just enough of the edge without covering the top of the pie. Add egg wash, sprinkle sugar on top and bake.
Tip: If the edges don’t brown enough, you can remove the pie shield during the last 10 minutes of baking to allow them to brown. But if the top of the pie starts to brown too much, you can tent a piece of foil over it to prevent it from burning.
More baker’s tips
- Only freeze metal pie dish – glass and ceramic cannot handle extreme temperature changes from freezer to oven. I did this for a long time with my ceramic pie plate, it eventually formed micro cracks and I had to throw it out.
- For a simpler crust – simply roll the top crust out into a circle instead, making a more traditional top crust.
- Keep the lattice strips and maple leaves cold – Make sure to keep them cold so they don’t melt as you work. Soft pie dough is more difficult to work with. The colder the maple leaves are, they better they keep their shape when baked.
- Wait for it to cool – Allow the pie to cool completely before slicing so the filling has time to gel together.
- Which thickener to use – Tapioca flour or cornstarch can be used to thicken the pie filling. Either is great because they don’t add any flavor to the filling but tapioca will give you a more clear gel once cooked.
Storage
This pear cranberry pie can be left out at room temperature for up to 2 days in cold weather. But if the weather is warm or you want to keep it longer, it is best to keep leftover refrigerated. It will last 5 days to a week in the refrigerator. Store in the pie dish, covered with plastic wrap or store slices in an airtight container.
You can freeze this pie either before or after baking. Frozen pies will last up to 4 months. If freezing unbaked pie, you will need to bake it straight from frozen without thawing. If thawed, the unbaked fruit filling will release all the water and makes the pie soggy.
If freezing baked pie, you can freeze it in the pie dish after it has cooled completely. You will need to thaw the pie completely before serving or reheating it in the oven. Reheat the pie at 350°F until the crust is crispy and the filling is no longer cold, about 20 minutes.
FAQs
I used D’Anjou in this recipe. I like them for their firmness and their lovely mellow flavor. Bosc and Anjou varieties are great for baking because they hold their shape and texture. In a pinch, Bartletts will work as well, but make sure they are still firm.
Use ripe but firm pears for this recipe, you don’t want to use super ripe pears in pies because they will release too much juice and fall apart when baked.
I don’t recommend it. Whole cranberries won’t “pop” readily when baked in a pie filling like this and you’ll end up with very tart whole cranberries, possibly with some still uncooked, mixed in with your pie filling.
Cooking the cranberries down to a sauce gives them a chance to simmer with the sugar and reduce their tartness but you will still have some texture like with whole cranberry sauce. The sauce will also help distribute cranberry flavor more evenly throughout the pie filling.
Sure, you can replace apples instead of pears. I would recommend using a sweeter variety of apples over something tart like Granny Smith since the cranberries already add tartness to the pie filling.
More pear and cranberry recipes
- Pear Cranberry Bread Pudding
- Orange Pear Smoothie Bowl
- Cranberry Orange Scones
- Pistachio Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
- Pear Almond Cake
📖 Recipe card
Pear Pie
Equipment
- Food Processor or Stand Mixer
Ingredients
2x Pie dough (ingredients for 1x)
- 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour (198 g)
- 2 rounded tablespoon granulated sugar (35 g)
- ¼ rounded teaspoon kosher salt (3 g)
- 5 oz unsalted butter (141 g, cold & cubed)
- 3 tablespoon cold water (44 g)
- Extra flour for rolling
Pie Filling
- 2 cup fresh cranberries (184 g)
- ¾ cup raw cane sugar (substitute brown or granulated sugar, divided, 144 g)
- 5 large D’Anjou pear (6-7 cups diced)
- 2 tablespoon orange juice
- Zest of 1 orange
- ¼ cup tapioca flour (or cornstarch, 32 g)
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon apple pie spice
Egg Wash
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 tablespoon raw cane sugar (substitute turbinado or sanding sugar, 12 g)
Instructions
To make the crust
- Note that the ingredient list for the pie crust is for 1 crust. This pie recipe requires a bottom and a top crust. Double the ingredients but make the two crusts separately. A third batch may be required for the decoration if you don’t have enough excess dough but is optional.
- Add flour, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse several times to mix. Add cubed cold butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs and butter is about pea size. Add cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse until the dough starts to pull together.
- Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured board, gather together and shape into a disk. Wrap in plastic and rest in the fridge for an hour.
- Repeat the above two steps for the second pie crust and third if making.
- When the pie dough is ready, take one disk out of the fridge and roll into a circle about 2” larger than your pie dish. Use extra flour to keep the dough from sticking to the counter and roller.
- Carefully place the dough over the pie dish, lightly press the dough into the bottom and side of the pie dish, let the excess dough hang over the side. Trim all the excess dough leaving just enough to cover the edge of the pie dish. Save the excess dough for later.
- Cover the pie dish with plastic wrap and store in the freezer.
- Take out the second disk of pie dough and roll out a rectangle about 12”x14”. Use a pizza wheel to cut into 12 strips about 1 3/16” wide by 12” long. I used the width of my wooden ruler for the dough strip width measurement. Place them on a parchment lined baking sheet and store in the refrigerator.
- Combine the excess dough from the first and the second pie disk, roll it out to thickness between ⅛” and ¼”. Use a maple leaf pie crust stamp and cut out as many leaves as you can. Place leaves on a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze until needed.
- You’ll need at least 25 – 30 maple leaves. If you don’t have enough, roll out the third disk of pie dough to stamp out more maple leaves.
To make the pie filling
- Wash cranberries and add them to a small saucepan with ¼ cup of sugar. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until a cranberry sauce forms. This will take 5 – 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Wash and peel the pears, cut into ¼” thick bite size pieces and add to a large bowl along with orange zest and juice.
- In a small bowl, add the remaining ½ cup of sugar, tapioca flour, salt and apple pie spice. Mix with a whisk until thoroughly combined. Add this along with the cranberry sauce to the large bowl with the pears and mix until evenly distributed.
Assemble pie and bake
- Move the oven rack to the bottom third of the oven and preheat to 425°F.
- In two small bowls, separate the egg white and the egg yolk. Take the pie dish out of the freezer and brush the bottom crust with beat egg white. The protein in egg white will prevent the crust from getting soggy when baked.
- Add the egg yolk back with the remaining egg white along with a tablespoon of water, beat together to make an egg wash.
- Pour the pear cranberry pie filling into the pie dish. Brush the edge with egg wash.
- Arrange the 12 strips of dough into a lattice top crust, trim the excess to the edge of the pie dish. The excess dough can be reshaped and rerolled to make more maple leaves for the decoration if desired.
- Take the frozen maple leaves out of the freezer and add them to the edge of the pie, brushing with egg wash as you go to ensure the leaves stick to the crust.
- Brush the leaves and the lattice crust with egg wash and sprinkle generously with raw or turbinado sugar.
- Cover the outer edge of the crust with thin strips of foil to prevent the edges from burning. Bake for 55-60 minutes until filling is bubbly and the top is golden brown.
- Check the top crust every 10 minutes during the last half hour to make sure it doesn’t burn. If it is getting too brown, tent the pie with foil loosely. If the edge is not getting brown, remove the crust shield during the last 10 minutes of baking.
- Allow to cool completely before slicing and serving. The filling will need time to set.
Notes
- Pre-cooking cranberries into a sauce will sweeten them and reduce their tartness. This also help with even distribution of the cranberry flavor throughout the pie filling.
- At least 25 – 30 maple leaves are needed to cover the edge of the pie completely.
- For a fuller leaf design, a third batch of pie dough may be needed if you don’t have enough excess dough or leftover from another recipe. You can make the extra dough, and freeze it if you don’t end up using it.
- Keep pie dough strips for the lattice and leaves for the design cold. Refrigerate or freeze them as needed throughout the process if they start to get too soft to work with.
Nutrition
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Hi Trang!
This pie looks delicious! What do you think about making this pie with apples rather than pears? Should I use a tart apple or a sweeter one to pair with the cranberries?
Hi Sheri, yes, you can definitely use apples, I would use sweeter apples since the cranberries are already tart. Let me know how it turns out!
This pie is just stunning. I love that decoration and how can you go wrong with baked pears and cranberry together.
Thanksgiving treat.
Looks almost too beautiful to eat.