Back to the Cutting Board

Cranberry-Apple Pandowdy

adapted from The Kitchn ^[1] and Bon Appetit ^[2]

Dessert | Servings: 6-8 servings
Prep time: 20 min | Cook time: 1 hour | Total time: 1 hour 20 min

Ingredients

Filling

• 3 to 4 cups fresh Cranberry Sauce Extraordinaire (recipe below)
• 1 large apple (such as Empire, Braeburn or Jonagold), peeled, cored and cut into 1/8-inch slices*
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg

*Feel free to substitute a pear instead of an apple.

Crust

• 1 cup + 2 tbsp. flour
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• 1/8 tsp. fine sea salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick – 4 oz.) unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes and chilled
• 2 tbsp. (or more) ice water

Topping

• 1 tbsp. butter, melted
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tbsp. cinnamon

Process

1. Heat the oven to 375°F.
2. In a large saucepan, combine cranberry sauce, apple slices, cinnamon and nutmeg. Simmer on medium-low while you make the crust.
3. In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, mix flour, sugar and salt.
4. Add chunks of butter and mix on low speed until mixture is crumbly. (30 seconds to a minute should be sufficient, don’t overmix.) Sprinkle with ice water, a tablespoon at a time, and mix on low until dough starts clinging to the paddle. Add more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dough is still dry. Gather dough together and flatten into a disk. At this point you can wrap the dough in plastic and let it chill for about 30 minutes, but it’s not absolutely necessary.
5. Roll out the dough disk on a well floured surface to 10-inch round (or whatever size your baking dish is). Trim off any ragged edges. You’ll need to poke a few holes to let steam escape, so you can use small cookies cutters to cut shapes out or just poke some small holes if you don’t care about appearance. (Alternately, you can cut up the dough into smaller squares and lay them on top of the filling patchwork quilt-style.)

6. 

   Pour the cranberry sauce into a 10-inch cast iron skillet or baking dish (any 9-inch, 10-inch or 11×7 non-reactive baking dish should work).

   Important Note: Don’t use a cast-iron skillet unless it’s highly seasoned. Cranberries are acidic and can strip the seasoning off a less seasoned pan which will result in this dessert tasting metallic.

7. 

   Top with pie crust, tucking the edges of the crust down over the filling. It’s not a big deal if the crust tears since you’ll need to cut it up later anyway. Or you can do like I did and add some extra pieces of dough on top to cover up the tears. 🙂

8. Mix together sugar and cinnamon. Gently brush top of pie crust with melted butter and sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar on top.
9. Bake for 30 minutes. Use a sharp knife to slice the crust into large pieces. Bake for 20-30 minutes more or until the crust is golden and the fruit juices are bubbling up through the crust. Cool for 20 minutes before serving. Serve warm with ice cream.

Store covered in the fridge. Reheat in a 300 degree (F) oven for about 20 minutes and then let cool for about 15 minutes before serving.

Cranberry Sauce Extraordinaire

adapted from All Recipes ^[3]

Side Dish | Yield: About 5 cups (10-12 servings)
Prep time: 10 min | Cook time: 30 min | Total time: 40 min

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 (12 oz.) package fresh cranberries
• 1 large apple, peeled, cored and diced
• 1 large pear, peeled, cored and diced
• 1 orange, peeled and pureed
• 1 cup chopped dried mixed berries
• Optional: 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cinnamon stick

Process

1. In a medium saucepan, boil water and sugar until the sugar dissolves.
2. Reduce the heat and stir in cranberries, apple, pear, pureed orange, dried fruit, salt, and cinnamon stick. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries burst. Remove from heat and let cool. Refrigerate until ready to serve.