Desserts:

French Cran-Apple Pie

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Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream if desired. Bakers tip: Spray bottom and sides of pan before you put the crust in it. This will prevent the crust from sticking when you take it out of the pan. Use slightly sweet cooking apples (such as golden delicious or Cortland) in this recipe to balance the tartness of the cranberries. Since cranberries and apples are available at this time of year, this is the perfect pie to make during the holiday season. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Crust:
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup oil (canola or corn or sunflower)
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk

Filling:
4 cups sliced, peeled apples
2 cups fresh/frozen cranberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Topping:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Dash of nutmeg
1/4 cup margarine or butter
1/3 cup chopped pecans (can be omitted)

Instructions

For pie crust, sift flour into a bowl. Mix oil and cold milk with a fork or wire whip; oil and milk must be thoroughly mixed. Pour oil/milk over flour. Using a fork, mix until moistened. Divide dough in half. Roll half of dough between 2 sheets of waxed paper. Put in deep dish pie pan, flute edges and chill before baking. Makes 2 9-inch pie shells. Freeze unused pie shell for later.

To prepare pie, heat oven to 375 degrees. Place cookie sheet in oven to preheat. In a large bowl, stir together apples and cranberries. In a small bowl, stir together sugar, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add dry ingredients to fruit; toss to coat. Pour into crust in a pie pan. For the topping, stir together all topping ingredients except butter and pecans in a small bowl. Using pastry blender or fork, cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in pecans. Sprinkle evenly over top of pie. Place pie on cookie sheet in oven. Bake 45 to 55 minutes or until apples are tender and crust and topping are golden brown. Cover edge of crust with strips of aluminum foil after 15 to 20 minutes of baking to prevent excessive browning. 8 servings.

Ron Fischer, Orion