A Lemony Cranberry Pie For a Brighter Thanksgiving

I don’t want to speak ill of pumpkin pie, with its potent spices and creamy center. I don’t want to tell you that apple pie, with all its slicing and double-crust fiddling, can be a lot of work. I won’t even mention the existential dilemma that comes when you’re considering pecan pie.

What I will point out, however, is that the easiest pie you’ll ever make for Thanksgiving is this lemony cranberry number. And if easy doesn’t sell you, I'll wager that it’s also the most refreshing and palate-cleansing pie option that still feels seasonally appropriate. Unlike the pies mentioned above, which are often heavily spiced or made with robustly flavored sweeteners like molasses and brown sugar, this pie is light, bright, and invigorating (yes, invigorating!) in a way that those more traditional pies can’t be.

We know you just got here because you’re in the middle of making a pie and Google told you we could help, so we’ll keep this short: Here are all of your Thanksgiving pie questions, answered.

The cranberry pie recipe comes from Epi contributor Sarah Jampel, who adores chess pie and was looking to offer a Thanksgiving option that’s as easy as clafoutis—the eggy fruit-studded French dessert. Here, the sugary custard is shot through with a combination of lemon zest and juice, which gives the pie the bracingly sweet-tart flavor of the best lemon bars. There’s a little vanilla in there too, which adds warmth, plus cornmeal (a traditional thickener for chess pies) and flour (which gives the pie a pleasingly squidgy texture).

What makes this Thanksgiving pie a true standout, though, is the cranberries. Jampel cooks the berries just slightly in a pan before cooling, then folds them into the whisked custard. You can reserve about one-third of the berries to scatter over the top for maximum visual appeal, or fold them all in for maximum ease. Either way the tart berries will set throughout the custard as the pie bakes in the oven. The result is a pie with a crackly—nearly crusted—golden top adorned with jewellike pops of bright red cranberry.

When eaten, the cranberries burst with a jellylike texture. Their sourness cuts through the richness of the eggs and cream in the custard and keeps the sweetness in check. If you’d like, you can dust the top with a blanket of powdered sugar or spoon a dollop of whipped cream over each slice, but neither is strictly necessary.

Jampel notes that making pie—especially this pie in this year—should not be a source of stress. If you’re comfortable preparing and blind-baking a pie crust from scratch—or if you want to attempt it for the first time—great! If not, we have some favorite store-bought options, the best of which is already set in a tin (bonus for anyone baking this year who doesn’t own a pie plate).

Cranberry Chess Pie

And speaking of lowering your stress level: If you’re wondering what to serve pre-pie at Thanksgiving this year, we have some ideas. This dessert appears at the end of a very low-key menu of miso-roast chicken (not turkey!) with a squash and apple panzanella. It’s a simple setup devised to make Thanksgiving 2020 a deliciously calm holiday, but if you find yourself turning to it (and to this cranberry pie recipe) again in years to come, we wouldn’t be surprised.

Originally Appeared on Epicurious