Cranberry Gingersnap Pie

This Cranberry Pie with its spicy gingersnap crumb crust and silky cranberry curd filling is guaranteed to bring a little va-va-voom to your holiday dessert table this year; the recipe is easy to follow and the result is show-stopping!

Why not change it up this year with cranberry gingersnap pie for Thanksgiving or Christmas

In our house it’s tradition that every year we try something new on our holiday menus…enter this amazing cranberry pie. (Oh boy, is this one going to wow you.)  I’m gaga over cranberries this year, I can’t stop playing with them ~ they’re my winter equivalent of lemons and they just seem to wake everything up. It’s all about how many bags I can cram in my freezer (12 at last count.)

This easy cranberry pie recipe is a gingersnap crumb crust filled with a brilliant homemade cranberry curd

But it’s the glorious flavors (and color!) that make it so special. For the crust I used my absolute favorite gingersnaps ~ Nyåkers ~ they come in a beautiful tin from Sweden, they’re super thin and crisp, and the flavor is bright and peppery. (These are the same cookies I used for the crust of my famous Lemon Crunch Bars, too)  These gingersnaps in the pretty tin make a great gift if you can keep from eating the cookies first (we never can.)  But don’t worry if you don’t have them, any gingersnap cookie will work.

What makes this crust stand out from the rest, apart from the spicy gingersnaps, is that it has an equal amount of walnuts processed right along with the cookies — so good!

As good as the gingersnap crust is, the most thrilling part of this pie, if you ask me, is that crimson pool of glossy curd in the middle.

The curd filling starts with tart fresh pureed cranberries that are mixed with eggs, extra yolks, sugar and lemon juice, and cooked until thick. You might recall I have a Microwave Cranberry Curd recipe on the blog, and that would work, too. The microwave recipe produces a fluffier, lighter curd, and either will be fantastic.

After the curd is cooked, and while it’s still warm, I whisk in some room temperature butter which helps to make it extra glossy. Don’t you just want to dive right in??

The secret to silky cranberry curd

Curd recipes often call for slow cooking over a double boiler…I never bother with that and cook my curds either in the microwave, (have you tried my insanely Easy Microwave Citrus Curd?) or on the stove top.

• The secret to a perfect curd without all that fuss is medium heat
• constant stirring
• and a final straining to remove any lumps
  

How to garnish a cranberry pie

I garnish this pie with sugared cranberries for a festive look. I used thyme for a touch of green contrast, but small mint leaves would be great too.

How to make sugared cranberries the easy way

Let’s be frank, no one is going to eat your sugared cranberries, they’re just for decoration. So I sugar my cranberries the easy way, there’s no need for messy beaten egg whites or a boiled sugar syrup.

• I take damp cranberries and roll them in granulated sugar. The sugar sticks just fine.
• Let them dry and then place them on your pie. Try not to handle them too much.

tvfgi recommends: Nyåkers Swedish Gingersnaps

Nyåkers comes in the pretty decorated tin, which I always re-use to give holiday cookies or store ornaments, etc. (I can’t bear to throw it away.)  These Swedish spice cookies have a cult following, and they make a great gift, just send them straight from Amazon. I send a tin to my Dad every year.

Reader Rave ~

“I took this to a pie potluck at work and it was a HUGE hit! The recipe seems foolproof to me; I followed your instructions exactly and my curd set up beautifully. The hardest part was not eating all the curd before I poured it into the crust. I will definitely make it again. And multiple colleagues (many of whom are accomplished bakers) asked me for the recipe!” ~Katie

Save Recipe Saved!

Print

3.93 from 306 votes

Cranberry Gingersnap Pie

This Cranberry Pie with its spicy gingersnap crumb crust and silky cranberry curd filling brings a little va-va-voom to the traditional dessert table ~ this vibrant pie going to be everybody's holiday favorite!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Chilling 2 hours

Total Time 2 hours 40 minutes

Yield 10 servings

Calories 394.37kcal

Author Sue Moran

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Equipment

• 9 inch pie plate

Ingredients

crust

• 5 ounces gingersnaps
• 1 cup walnuts
• 3 Tbsp brown sugar
• 4 Tbsp butter melted

filling

• 12 ounce bag of fresh cranberries
• 1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
• 3 large eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temp and cut in pieces

garnish

• sugared cranberries
• fresh thyme sprigs or mint leaves

Instructions

• Set oven to 350F Lightly spray a 9 inch pie plate with cooking spray.
• Put the gingersnaps in a food processor and process until they are fine crumbs. (this should be a heaping cup) Add the walnuts, and sugar and process again until everything is finely ground. Add the butter and process briefly to combine.
• Pat the crust into your pie plate, and up the sides. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• Put the cranberries, 1 cup of the sugar, and 1/4 cup water to a simmer in a saucepan. Lower the heat and simmer the cranberries, uncovered, for about 15 minutes until they’ve popped and the mixture is quite thick. Let cool slightly and then puree until completely smooth.
• Whisk the puree, the eggs, yolks, salt, lemon juice and 1/2 cup sugar together in a saucepan and set over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon, this will take about 10 minutes or so. Stay by the pan the whole time and stir! Note: let the mixture just come up to a bubble, and then remove from heat.
• Push the curd through a mesh strainer, using the back of a spoon to get it all through.
• Let the curd cool for a few minutes and then drop the room temperature butter in, bit by bit, while you stir to melt it.
• Pour the curd into the pie crust and smooth out evenly. Chill the pie until it is firm, about 2 hours or so.
• Decorate with sugared cranberries if you like.
• To make sugared cranberries, roll damp cranberries in granulated sugar and let dry.

Cook’s notes

 

• Any firm curd will work in this pie, so feel free to experiment.
• Use a regular graham cracker crust in place of the gingersnap crust.
• Leave out the walnuts for a nut free crust, just add more crumbs.

 

*This recipe is slightly adapted from bon appétit

Nutrition

Serving: 1piece | Calories: 394.37kcal | Carbohydrates: 51.25g | Protein: 5.08g | Fat: 20.39g | Saturated Fat: 7.58g | Cholesterol: 112.24mg | Sodium: 134.43mg | Potassium: 169.05mg | Fiber: 2.7g | Sugar: 38.32g | Vitamin A: 423.49IU | Vitamin C: 9.4mg | Calcium: 42.82mg | Iron: 1.69mg

The nutritional information for recipes on this site is provided as a courtesy and although theviewfromgreatisland.com tries to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.