FoodAllergyMama.com

It’s officially November 1st, and in my book, time to break out all the best holiday recipes. Thanksgiving will be here in just a few short weeks, and I’m already thinking of potential Turkey Day desserts. Look in any food magazine that’s out right now and you’ll see plenty of recipes for Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Tarts, Pumpkin Cheesecakes and even lots of other fall recipes including apple pie. I’ve done them all, but the one pie that really surprised me when I made it last year was the Holiday Cranberry Pie.

This pie is superb in several ways; it’s delicious and not too sweet, colorful and festive. Raisins are a wonderful addition to the cranberries and lend just the right balance of sweet to the tart of the cranberry. You could make my Easy Pie Dough or simply purchase a Pillsbury Pie Crust. After baking the pie be sure to cool it completely before serving, otherwise it might fall apart on you. As with most pies, I love mine served slightly warmed with a generous dollop of Vanilla Soy Ice Cream.

Enjoy and happy baking!

DAIRY, EGG AND NUT FREE HOLIDAY CRANBERRY PIE

Yield: 6 servings

1 recipe Easy Pie Dough (see below) or Pillsbury Premade Pie Crust

1 c. water

1 T. cornstarch

1 1/2 c. granulated sugar

1/8 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 c. raisins

2 c. fresh cranberries

2 tsp. grated orange zest

Prepare the Easy Pie Dough as directed and divide the dough in half. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, heat the water and cornstarch until it boils and the cornstarch dissolves. Remove from heat, and add the sugar, salt and vanilla. Cool to room temperature, and set aside.

Rinse the raisins in cold water to prevent sticking. Place raisins and cranberries in the bowl of a food processor and pulse them a few times, just enough to roughtly chop them. Add the raisins, cranberries and orange zest to the cornstarch-sugar mixture and mix well.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a 9-inch glass pie plate with the first rolled out disk of pie dough. Pour the fruit mixture on top of the dough, and top it with the second rolled-out disk of dough. Crimp the edgest and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees adn bake for 25-30 more minutes, or until lightly browned and the fruit juices are bubbling. Cool completely.

Easy Pie Dough

2 c. unbleached all purpose flour

1 tsp. granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

2/3 c. dairy free shortening, chilled and cut into small pieces (I use Crisco)

5-7 T. ice water

Combine flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Add the shortening, and pulse a few times until the mixture resembles small crumbs. Add ice water, 1 T. at a time to the flour mixture, pulsing until the dough just comes together. Transfer the mixture to a sheet of plastic wrap. Use the plastic wrap to pull the sides of hte dough together, forming a rounded disk. Chill at least 30 minutes before using.