DrinkWire is Liquor.com’s showcase for the best articles, recipes and reviews from the web’s top writers and bloggers. In this post, Creative Culinary offers a boozy dessert recipe.

The combination of apples and cranberries in this Cranberry Apple Pie with Grand Marnier Whipped Cream will make a delicious compliment to the sweeter offerings at your holiday table. Subtlety tart and absolutely delicious.

Life is so fast. Especially this time of year. I always have big plans that NEXT year I’ll be more on top of things but somehow that never happens. Time really flies doesn’t it? I honestly expected to share this pie for Thanksgiving but I didn’t make it until after Thanksgiving Day and it is so beautiful with those red cranberries that I decided it looked more like a Christmas pie anyhow and so now it is!

This month my Progressive Eats crew is all about Holiday recipes. Some remembered fondly from years past but in my case something new and wonderful. The lovely Liz from the site That Skinny Chick Can Bake is our hostess this month; she made us do it and I’m glad she did!

I did just chuckle though…wondering why life seems to never have enough time while sharing the pie that took me hours to make because I wanted to decorate it with some adorable pie crust cutters I recently bought from Williams-Sonoma. I might be the main reason it gets crazy huh?

Still, it was fun. If you’re on Instagram, there are a couple of people who make the most amazing pie crust decorations. I thought it seemed creative so I got my cutters and made my dough and I was all set to spend the time to do something while maybe not extraordinary, at least a bit out of the ordinary.

My plans were quickly modified when the boys up the street showed up. I need help getting all the boxes of Christmas decorations from the basement (no matter what else I can do…the long term affects of a broken leg always rear up when I’m trying to carry a bunch of stuff up the stairs!); they are always such willing helpers and as a reward I promised them some pie crust cookies.

I had finished cutting out the shapes when they arrived in my kitchen and I was left just to decorate. And I love how it turned out BUT, I didn’t really do my thing. I let the boys make a decision and we piled some leaves in the center and then I rushed; a failing I have when someone is around. I was telling a friend that I always do that when someone is waiting on me; whether they urge me to or not…I rush.

I’m best left to my creative ventures when I’m alone, when my perfectionism is not so clearly on display for someone else to see and I can spend as much time as I want in search of it. It’s the same if someone wants to watch me shoot photos…I could easily take a hundred shots to capture three good photos but if someone is waiting…I’m done at twenty or twenty-five. I know this is all on me and it is time to teach me a new trick…and not do it.

So I’ll practice more making my own design some other day (expect more pies) and not call the boys until cookies are baked and it will be all good. In the meantime, I sure loved my favorite crust with this pie. Combining tart cranberries with tart apples and some orange in the perfect pie crust was nirvana.

The combination of tart and sweet was so perfect and unexpected. I admit, I love pecan pie but it needs a slice of this pie next to it to balance what can sometimes feel like tooth aching sweetness. Besides what can beat a red pie over the holidays? How perfect is that?

Welcome to Progressive Eats, our virtual version of a Progressive Dinner Party. Each recipe in our menu this month features an Old Fashioned Holiday Recipe, and our host is Liz who blogs at That Skinny Chick Can Bake.

If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, a progressive dinner involves going from house to house, enjoying a different course at each location. With Progressive Eats it’s a virtual party. A theme is chosen each month, members share recipes suitable for a delicious meal or party, and you can hop from blog to blog to check them out. Come along and see all of the delicious holiday dishes!

PIN ‘Cranberry Apple Pie with Grand Marnier Whipped Cream’

Yield: Serves 6-8

Cranberry Apple Pie with Grand Marnier Whipped Cream

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Print

Ingredients

• Two Pie Crusts, chilled - homemade or store-bought

For the Filling

• 1 Tbsp butter
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 3 large, firm, tart apples, peeled, cored and sliced
• 2 Tbsp Grand Marnier
• 2 cups cranberries, fresh or frozen, divided
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp orange oil or 1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel (zest)
• 1 Tbsp All-Purpose Flour
• 1/3 cup orange juice

For the Whipped Cream

• 1 cup whipping cream
• 2 Tbsp powdered sugar
• 1 oz Grand Marnier (optional)

Instructions

For the Pie Crust

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Roll out one of the two pie crusts; keeping the 2nd in the refrigerator until the pie is filled and ready to be topped. Lightly grease a 9" pie plate and fit the pie dough into the prepared plate and crimp the edges.

For the Filling

1. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat; add the brown sugar and cinnamon and mix well. Add the chopped apples and saute for 5 minutes. Take off heat and allow to cool. Sprinkle with the Grand Marnier and mix it into the apples.
2. Measure out 1/2 cup of cranberries and set aside. Chop the remaining 1 & 1/2 cups of cranberries in a processor until chunky. In a medium saucepan, cook both the chopped and whole cranberries with the sugar, orange oil or peel, flour and orange juice over medium heat until the mixture simmers and is slightly thickened. Remove from the heat and cool.

To Assemble the Pie

1. Place the cooled apples on top of the dough and spread in an even layer.
2. Pour the cooled cranberry mixture over the apples.
3. Use the other half of the dough to make a lattice crust or decorate with cookie shapes and place it on top of the filling. Seal and crimp the edges. (To make a lattice crust; take a peek at this post.)
4. Bake the pie for 40 to 45 minutes (check after 20 minutes and cover the edges with a pie shield or foil if necessary to prevent burning), until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling in the center. Remove from the oven and cool before slicing.

Make the Whipped Cream

1. Chill your bowl and beater for at least 15 minutes in the refrigerator. Pour the whipping cream and Grand Marnier into the bowl and beat at medium high speed until the cream starts to thicken.
2. Add the powdered sugar and increase speed to high and whip until firm peaks form. Dollop on pie slices and serve.

Notes

My favorite pie crust is made using butter and lard (shortening if lard is not available). Recipe linked here.

If using storebought crust I highly recommend the type that you find in the refrigerated section that you unroll and fit into your own pie plate.

Category: All Recipes

The post Cranberry Apple Pie with Grand Marnier Whipped Cream appeared first on Creative Culinary.