Pumpkin, Cranberry, and Pecan Pie

Thanksgiving is hands-down my favorite holiday of the year. Are any of you surprised? I love planning the big meal and then enjoying it with family and friends. Growing up, I was the only one who ever wanted pumpkin pie on the dessert table at Thanksgiving. My dad always obliged and made me a pumpkin pie.

As a side note, I think I get some of my crazy food ideas from my dad – we usually have at least one pie for every person at the Thanksgiving table, so literally everyone can request whichever flavor they prefer. So anyways, growing up, I wanted pumpkin pie. I’d pile on the cool whip and dig in.

As I got older, I was kind of turned off by pumpkin pie. Mostly because there are just so many other delicious Thanksgiving desserts to try. But let me tell you a couple things about this pie. 1: makes me love pumpkin pie again and 2: makes me swear I’ll never make plain old pumpkin pie again.

It’s seriously the PERFECT Thanksgiving pie. It has everything you could possibly want in a pie. The majority of the pie is a subtle spiced pumpkin filling, and then it’s topped with a pecan and cranberry streusel that gets all melting and crispy and delicious in the oven. If you have pumpkin pie on your Thanksgiving menu this year, I strongly urge you to replace it with this Pumpkin, Cranberry, and Pecan Pie.

One Year Ago: Spiced Butternut Squash Cupcakes
Two Years Ago: Cous Cous with Butternut Squash and Cranberries, Crockpot Cranberry Pork Roast and Cranberry Almond Caramel Tart
Three Years Ago: Depths of Fall Butternut Squash Pie and Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

Pumpkin, Cranberry, and Pecan Pie

Ingredients:

For the Pie
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp orange zest
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp cardamom
15 oz can pumpkin
3 slightly beaten eggs
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 single pie crust

For the Cranberry Pecan Topping
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
4 tsp flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp cold butter
4 ounces fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, flour, zest, salt, and all of the spices (nutmeg through cardamom). In a separate bowl, combine the pumpkin, eggs, cream, and vanilla.

Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and lightly beat by hand until well combined. Pour the pumpkin mixture into a pie shell. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, add the brown sugar, flour, and salt, and butter to a small food processor and chop until it resembles a coarse mixture. Stir in the chopped cranberries and pecans.

Remove pie from the oven and sprinkle the cranberry mixture on top. Return the tart to the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the pie is set, topping is golden and bubbly, and the crust is golden. If the crust starts getting too brown, you can add strips of foil around the edges.

Cool on a wire rack. Cover and refrigerate within 2 hours.

Recipe adapted from Good Life Eats