Spiced Cranberry Apple Pie + Oat Crust & Orange Custard Sauce

Every season has it’s pie. I wanted a festive, winter inspired pie this December and threw together this spiced cranberry apple pie, topped with a crust resembling a snowflake. This crust is a little different from the pie crust that I usually make. It contains oats and a comfortable amount of butter which turn it into a homey, rustic sort of pastry with a crumbling,  melt in your mouth texture. The filling is all apple and vanilla, lightly spiced with cinnamon and cloves, punctuated by tart cranberries. What really makes this pie, though, is the custard sauce. Super creamy, and scented with orange, it is the perfect foil for all of the tart spiced fruits and crumbly pastry.

If you are wanting to make a cut out pie crust, as I did, all you need are a few small cookie cutters. I used two different sized leaf shaped cutters and after rolling out the top crust in a circle(on top of a sheet of parchment), cut shapes out in a pattern that I liked. Once you have the crust cut out, sprinkle it with flour and flip it over onto another sheet of parchment paper. Peel the top layer of parchment carefully off of the crust. Chill it for a half hour or so, until firm. Then you can carefully slide it onto the top of the filled pie and press the edges of the crust down into the bottom layer of crust or seal however you prefer.

Make sure you let the pie sit for a few hours before trying to serve or it will be too crumbly. It will set up more as it cools. It is best eaten warm, however and reheats very well in the microwave =)

Spiced Cranberry Apple Pie + Oat Crust & Orange Custard Sauce

 

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Serves: one 9" pie

Ingredients

• FOR THE CRUST:
• 1½ cups White Whole Wheat Flour or AP Flour
• 1 cup Quaker Old Fashioned Oats
• 3 tablespoons fine Raw Cane Sugar
• ¼ teaspoon Sea Salt
• ¼ cup Shortening
• 12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) Butter, cold and cut into small cubes
• ¼ cup + Ice Water
• FOR THE FILLING:
• 4 large Apples, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1½ cups Cranberries
• 1 cup Turbinado Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon Ground Cloves
• 3 tablespoons Cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla
• 1 egg, beaten
• FOR THE CUSTARD:
• 4 Egg Yolks
• 4 tablespoons Raw Cane Sugar
• zest of one Orange
• 1 cup Whole Milk
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla

Instructions

1. FOR THE CRUST:
2. Place the flour, oats, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with an 's' blade. Close the lid and process the mixture a few times until the oats are broken down into very small pieces.
3. Add the shortening to the food processor and pulse once. Add the cubes of butter, one at a time, pulsing a few times after the addition of each cube.
4. With the processor running, drizzle in the ice water until the mixture starts to form into large clumps. Do not add too much water. Dough should not be sticky or wet, but should come together to form a nice dough.
5. Divide the dough in half, wrap up one half and set aside.
6. Roll the other half of dough into a ball and place in between two sheets of parchment paper. Roll to a circle that is 1½-2 inches larger in circumference than your pie dish.
7. Place the sheet of dough over the top of your pie dish and remove parchment paper. Press the dough in to fit the bottom and sides of the dish. There should be a little bit of dough left hanging over the edges. Trim dough so that it lines up with the edge of your pie dish.
8. Set aside and make the pie filling.
9. FOR THE FILLING:
10. Place the apple slices, cranberries, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, cornstarch, and vanilla in a large bowl. Toss to coat - cornstarch should dissolve.
11. Spoon the mixture evenly into the dough lined pie dish.
12. Place the remaining half of the pie dough in between two sheets of parchment paper and roll to a thickness of ⅛-1/4". Make sure both sides of the dough are well floured. Cut the dough into a circle that is ½" larger than the top of your pie dish. Use cookie cutters to cut out a pattern into the circle of dough, like pictured(I used a 2 sizes of leaf shaped cutters).
13. Chill the dough for 10 minutes, then set on top of the filled pie and slowly slide the dough off of the parchment and on top of the pie.
14. Seal the edges of the crust as desired.
15. Brush beaten egg over the top of the pie crust.
16. Cover the top of the pie with tin foil very carefully and bake on the middle rack of an oven at 375 degrees for 50-55 minutes.
17. Remove the tin foil and continue baking the pie until the filling is bubbling(another 10-15 minutes). The center of the filling should be thick and gel-like.
18. Remove from the oven and let cool.
19. Serve slices with a drizzle of the orange custard sauce.
20. FOR THE CUSTARD SAUCE:
21. *note that this sauce is not a thick, pudding like sauce. It should have a pour-able, just thickened consistency when done.
22. Place the egg yolks, sugar, and orange zest in a bowl and whisk until pale yellow, 2-3 minutes. Place the milk in a medium saucepan and bring just to a boil. Slowly whisk the hot milk into the egg/sugar mixture. Transfer the mixture back to the saucepan and stir over medium heat until custard thickens, about 4 minutes. Custard should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
23. Remove from heat immediately once thickened and continue to whisk as it cools. Mix in the vanilla. Transfer to bowl or serving saucer.

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