Cranberry Pecan Pie

I've been bouncing around a lot this month with a work trip, a short personal vacation, and everything else in between.  Like free food when shopping around for wedding caterers, yum!  But what better time to sit down and get back into the swing of things with a divine pie recipe just in time for Thanksgiving!

Naturally this is a Pinterest find.  I was searching around on the internet for the cranberry pie recipe we've made the past few years, but it must only be in a recipe book as I couldn't find it.  However, during the search process I found this gem of a cranberry pecan pie recipe on I should be mopping the floor's blog.  Pumpkin pie will always be my favorite, but pecan pie is a close second and I love how festive the pie looks when adding the cranberries.  Plus they're full of antioxidants which makes this pie healthy, right?!

I normally make a wheat flour-based pie crust and I try a different recipe each time since I haven't found the perfect one yet.  However, I went gluten-free this time to try something different and make it easier for a family member who has a gluten intolerance.  I never realized until now how annoying it is to make a gluten-free crust!  It sticks to everything!  It was definitely a labor of love and took a bit of patience.  I felt like a sculptor patting, forming, and stretching that pie crust into the pie dish, fingers crossing that it wouldn't crack!

So, without further ado, see below for the pie crust and pie recipes!  And do excuse my less-than-professional looking photos.  Let's be real here, when you're baking and your hands are full of pie crust dough, you're not going to whip out your fancy camera--you're going to use your handy dandy iPhone.

Cranberry Pecan Pie

Crust Ingredients: 2 3/4 cup King Arthur gluten-free multipurpose flour 1 cup butter 10 tbsp. ice water 1 egg (for the egg wash) Pie Filling Ingredients: 1 cup light corn syrup 1 cup sugar 3 eggs 2 tbsp. melted butter 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1 1/2 cups roasted pecan halves 8 oz whole cranberries (~1.5 cups) Instructions: Preparing the pie crust: Fill a cup with ice water and let it chill for 5 minutes. While the water is chilling, cut the butter into pieces and combine into a large bowl with the flour.  Using a pastry blender, mix the butter into the flour. Add 1 tbsp. of ice water at a time, mixing after each tbsp.  (I found that this gluten-free crust recipe used twice as much water as a wheat-based crust recipe.)  When the dough sticks together after squeezing it in your hand, roll it into a ball in plastic wrap and chill it in the fridge for 30 minutes. For the pie filling: Preheat oven to 350 F.  Combine and mix the corn syrup, sugar, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla extract together in a medium bowl.  Then stir in the pecan halves (I used pecan pieces) and cranberries. Cut the dough ball in half.  Roll out one of the halves and place into the pie pan.  Fold the excess crust around the edges in on itself to create a neat pie crust edge.  Use a fork to make designs around the pie crust edge.  Put the pie crust in the oven for 17-20 minutes to firm up the crust a bit. Pour the pie filling into the pie crust.  Roll out the remaining half of the pie crust dough if you want a crust topper or to make a lattice crust.  (I chose not to since I wanted to see the pretty colors!).  Bake for 60 minutes. Whisk an egg and 2 tbsp. cold water together.  Take the pie out of the oven and brush the egg wash onto the edges of the crust.  This adds a sheen and allows coloring of the gluten-free crust as it's baking.  (Unlike wheat-based baked goods, I've found that gluten-free items don't brown nearly as much, so an egg or butter wash helps to give it a nice golden color.)  Bake for an additional 10 minutes. When pie is done, let cool, and enjoy!