Easy No Crust Cranberry Pie

 

 

“At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.”

 

- Albert Schweitzer 

 

 

Whoever invented the phrase, easy as pie, was talking about this cranberry pie.  When I first saw this recipe, I thought that's probably really good (lots of good reviews) or it's just meh. Well, I'm happy to report it is the former.

 

 

Chopping the walnuts, this is the most work I had to do for this pie

 

It's really tasty, and it's one of the easiest things I've ever made. Seriously, chopping nuts and melting the butter was all the work I did, (if you call that work.) You really just stir it all together. You don't even have to thaw the cranberries. A cinch, this pie is.

 

I'm not even a huge cranberry fan, I mean they're o.k., just not exactly my favorite. But I really enjoyed this pie. So much that I ended up eating it for breakfast everyday till it was gone. (I have a sweet tooth, what can I say.)

Cranberries (frozen is fine) and walnuts go in the dry mixture to coat them before adding the wet ingredients

Of course it's not exactly a pie. Sort of like a cross between a pie and a cake and perhaps a skillet cookie. Or maybe like a cranberry clafoutis. The texture is like moist dense cake. I love the crunch that the walnuts provide. The cranberries make it tart, but the cake is sweet, but not too much so. I found if wonderfully well balanced. It's great with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Spread it in the pan, (the mixture is thick) mine is so yellow because I have my own free range chickens that produce eggs with bright orange yolks. If you use store bought eggs it will be more pale.

The original recipe calls for almond extract. I couldn't believe I looked into the pantry and didn't have any. I used vanilla. Next time I may use almonds instead of walnuts, and use that almond extract and a little vanilla extract. I happen to like the flavor of almond extract, but I know lots of people don't. If you are one of those people just stick with vanilla.




Add cranberries to the top to make it look pretty

I'll be honest some of the reviews I read said they thought this was more like a breakfast cake, maybe a coffee cake. But many desserts are good for breakfast, and I think this is one of them. In my opinion I think it's more of a dessert.

At the holidays I think it would be a great change of pace to have this along with the usual pumpkin and apple desserts. I personally make 3 desserts for Thanksgiving and I think this would be a nice, different option. It's so easy, you could make it for a wonderful fall dessert with a weeknight meal as a delightful surprise for your family.

Sprinkle on some crunchy sugar, it's not necessary, but I really loved the sweet crunch on top.

I'm hosting a giveaway for a $50.00 gift certificate at my Etsy shop, House of Lucien. Head over to Shabby Art Boutique to enter! The giveaway ends Saturday November 17th. And stick around, Kerry Anne is having "Simply Christmas" going on until December 25th.

House of Lucien is now on Facebook! At House of Lucien you'll find vintage dishes, pretty teacups and teapots, silver serving pieces and more. Shabby chic to traditional. English transferware and ironstone. I ship worldwide and offer free gift wrapping. Over at House of Lucien's Facebook, everyday I feature an item with a quote called, Today's Treasure. I'd love to see you there!

 

 

 

 

 

Easy No Crust Cranberry Pie

adapted from Crustless Cranberry Pie from All Recipes

If you want to do the almond variation, use sliced almonds instead of walnuts, and use 1/2 tsp. almond extract and 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract.

Ingredients

1 cup (150 g.) flour

1 cup (200 g.) sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup (50 g.) chopped walnuts

1 1/2 cups cranberries (135 g.) plus 1/2 cup (45 g.) for topping - frozen is fine

1/2 cup (114 g.) melted butter

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Coarse sugar - a few tablespoons for sprinkling on top of pie - optional, but a nice touch

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, 180 degrees Celsius, Gas Mark 4. Grease or spray a 9 or 10 inch pie plate (mine was 10, if you use a 9 inch your pie will be a little taller than mine, FYI.)

Whisk together the flour, sugar and salt. Stir in the 1 1/2 cups (135 g.) of cranberries, and the chopped walnuts ( or almonds if using) and toss to coat. Stir in the melted butter, the beaten eggs and the vanilla extract (or almond and vanilla, if using.) If you are using frozen cranberries the mixture will be thick. Spread the batter in the prepared pan. Place the 1/2 cup cranberries on top of pie, well spaced to look decorative. Sprinkle the coarse sugar on top of the pie.

Bake in preheated oven for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean in the middle. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream if desired.