Savor the flavors of fresh tart cranberries and citrusy orange marmalade as they come together in this unique and delicious Christmas Cranberry Pie. It’s easy to make and incredibly delicious!
A perfect Christmas pie isn’t just about the taste; although it’s divine, it’s just as much about a beautiful presentation. And, this gorgeous, make-ahead holiday treat is a true showstopper.
Simply made with a purchased frozen pie crust, cranberries, oranges, and mounds of whipped cream, the result is a rich and delightful dessert that will have everyone asking for seconds.
Here is what you will need:
You will need a bag of fresh cranberries, a deep-dish pie crust, unflavored gelatin, sugar, orange marmalade, orange zest, and heavy cream. That’s it!
How to make this recipe:
Bake the crust according to the directions on the package. Set aside to cool completely.
Combine the fruit, one cup of the sugar, the orange marmalade, and the orange zest in a medium-size saucepan.
Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the mixture thickens a little and a few of the cranberries pop. This should take approximately eight to nine minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Sprinkle the package of gelatin evenly over ⅓ cup of cold water. Let this mixture sit for one minute and add the contents to the cranberry mixture. Stir to combine.
Let the cooked mixture cool for two hours.
After two hours, pour the cooled mixture into the pie crust and spread out evenly. (The mixture will still be thin.)
Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of two hours for the cranberry mixture to thicken up and set.
To make the whipped cream, combine the heavy cream and one tablespoon of sugar in a cold medium-size bowl and use an electric mixer to whip until stiff peaks form. This should take about two to three minutes.
Before serving, top the pie with a generous amount of whipped cream and add any seasonal decorations you like.
When are cranberries in season?
According to the Ocean Spray website, they are harvested beginning in mid-September through mid-November in the US.
The timing couldn’t be better because cranberry sauce and cranberry desserts are popular holiday dishes, and fresh fruit is readily available. This is just one of the reasons this tart fruit is such a perfect holiday ingredient.
If you are like me and love cranberries, do yourself a favor and stock up now while they are in season. Then just stash the bags of fruit in your freezer, and you will have them all year long. I think at last count, I had a dozen bags in my freezer. You might say I’m obsessed with them.
Sharon’s Tips:
This is a dessert for lovers of all things cranberry, and it is more tart than most fruit pies. If you would like to sweeten things up a bit, you can increase the amount of sugar by an additional one-half cup added to the cranberries.
I found the cute sanded gummy Christmas tree candy at Fresh Market, but you can use any candy or other holiday-themed decoration on your pie. Sugared cranberries would also be beautiful. Another DIY idea would be to dip a sprig of rosemary into Karo syrup, then dredge it in sugar and let dry.
You can make this dessert ahead. Make it as directed, cover it, and store it in the refrigerator for three to four days. For the best results, don’t add the whipped cream or decorations until you are ready to serve it.
I used a purchased frozen pie crust to make this recipe. However, you can certainly make your own crust. I haven’t tried it, but I think it would also be delicious with a graham cracker or gingersnap crust.
If you use a purchased crust, don’t skip the step of liberally pricking the bottom and sides of the crust with a fork. You don’t want your crust to puff up in spots while baking.
In addition, I always take the extra step of placing a crumbled piece of parchment paper on the bottom of the crust. I then fill the parchment-covered pie crust with either dry beans or pie weights. I remove the parchment paper and dry beans when about two or three minutes of baking remains, and then let it finish baking to crisp up the bottom crust.
More cranberry recipes:
Speaking of obsessed, in addition to this delicious Christmas dessert, I have several other popular dessert recipes on my blog that I know you will love. They include Ultimate Cranberry Upside Down Cake, Cranberry Cake with Hard Sauce, and No-Bake Cranberry Cheesecake.
Popular cocktail recipes on my blog include Cranberry Infused Vodka and Frozen Cranberry Margaritas. And, if you are looking for appetizers, check out my Cranberry Pecan Mini Goat Cheese Balls, 3-Ingredient Cranberry Brie Bites, and my Cranberry Jalapeno Cream Cheese Dip.
Just when you think there couldn’t be anymore, how about Cornish Game Hens with Cranberry Stuffing, and my Thanksgiving favorite Cranberry Sauce with Fruit and Nuts.
If you make this dish, please leave a comment and give this recipe a star rating. I would love to know how you liked it!
Thanks so much for visiting Grits and Pinecones!
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Christmas Cranberry Pie with Orange Marmalade
Ingredients
- 1 deep-dish pie crust frozen
- .25 oz pkg unflavored gelatin
- 4 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
- 1 cup sugar plus 1 tablespoon, divided
- ½ cup orange marmalade
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Bake the crust according to the directions on the package. Set aside to cool completely.
- Combine the fruit, one cup of the sugar, the orange marmalade, and the orange zest in a medium-size saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the mixture thickens a little and a few cranberries pop. This should take approximately eight to nine minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Sprinkle the package of gelatin evenly over ⅓ cup of cold water. Let this mixture sit for one minute and add the contents to the cranberry mixture. Stir to combine.
- Let the fruit mixture cool for two hours.
- After two hours, pour the fruit mixture into the pie crust and spread out evenly. (The mixture will still be thin.)
- Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of two hours for the filling to thicken up and set.
- To make the whipped cream, combine the heavy cream and one tablespoon of sugar in a cold medium-size bowl and use an electric mixer to whip until stiff peaks form. This should take about two to three minutes.
- Before serving, top the pie with a generous amount of whipped cream and add any seasonal decorations you like.
Notes
Nutrition
Susan Barnes
I, too, love all things cranberry, so I decided to try this for Christmas dessert. I had a frozen deep dish pie crust which I blind baked, but a regular sized pie crust would have worked. The 12-ounce bag of cranberries measured at exactly four cups, and this was all simple enough to put together. I really enjoyed that it was rather start after all the sweet treats we had in the house. I also enjoyed the texture of the pie filling since the cranberries weren’t cooked to mush. Since I had kumquat marmalade around that I had made, I used this rather than orange marmalade. Five stars. I’ll make this again.
Sharon Rigsby
Merry Christmas Susan! I’m so glad you enjoyed this pie. And, I just planted a kumquat tree so I’m hoping next year you might share your kumquat marmalade recipe with me! I’ll bet it was delicious in the pie.
Thanks so much for leaving such a sweet comment and Happy New Year too!
Sharon