The holidays are fast approaching and I’ve got a cream-licious pie for you. Working with one of my favorite fruits, the cranberry, I’ve teamed them with a gingersnap cookie crust for a mouthwatering treat, my Gingersnap Cranberry Lime Pie!
This beauty of a pie is like a Key Lime Pie that married the fresh and tangy cranberry.
A fantastic holiday dessert table treat to wow the family. I also have made these in little mini muffin form for that bite sized treat, too.
MY LATEST VIDEOSBut a pie is great for the family dinner table, to bring as a gift for the host or hostess, and if you’re like me, anytime of the year. I purposely buy several extra bags of cranberries and pop them in the freezer for when the time hits during the rest of the year and they’re out of season.
This Cranberry Lime Pie is amazingly sweet and the walnuts ground in with the gingersnap cookie and butter crust is THE perfect combination of flavors to offset the tangy cranberries.
If time is not your friend on these busy holidays and oven time is limited, the crust can get baked and made up to 1 day in advance, too. The crust reminds me of a shortbread. As you pierce the crust with your fork you’ll feel a slight snap and the flavorful crumbs are delicious.
Cranberries cook down with sugar and water then get puréed in a blender before cooking with eggs and the lime juice over a pan of simmering water to cook and thicken.
With an electric mixer you beat in the butter and your done. The cranberry lime curd is amazing.
Simply pour this in your pre-baked pie crust and refrigerate.
I made candied cranberries, too. Just set aside about 12 of them in the beginning. Before serving I rolled them in a small bowl with about a tablespoon of corn syrup and dried them on a wire rack in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Tossed them in a bowl of sugar when they were tacky dry and rolled them until the sugar was crusted all over. On the pie they went for decoration. This is optional of course.
For other cranberry ideas, try my Fresh Cranberry Sauce with Cherry, Cranberry Coffee Cake, or Cranberry Apple Slab Pie. For holiday recipes and ideas come to my Holiday page. Enjoy!
This Cranberry Lime Pie has a gingersnap cookie and walnut crust, a cranberry lime curd that is out of this world and topped with candied cranberries. Wow! Adapted from Bon Appetit/Epicurious. Prep time does not include 2 hours to chill pie.
- 4 oz gingersnap cookies about 18
- 1 cup walnuts
- 4 tbsp butter melted
- 3 tbsp light brown sugar
- 1 12-ounce package fresh (or frozen, thawed) cranberries
- 1 1/2 cups sugar divided
- 3 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 tsp finely grated lime zest
- 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
- 1/8 tsp of kosher salt
- 3/4 cup butter room temperature, cut into small cubes
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Pulse cookies in a food processor until finely ground, should be about 1 cup. Add the walnuts and pulse until finely ground. Add butter and brown sugar and pulse to combine.
- Transfer crumb mixture to a deep 9" pie dish. Press firmly onto bottom and up sides of dish. Bake until firm and slightly darkened in color, 12–15 minutes. If crust slides down sides, gently press back up. Let cool.
- Remove 12 cranberries and set aside. Bring remaining cranberries, 1 cup sugar, and 1/4 cup water to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until cranberries burst and most of the liquid evaporates, 12–15 minutes. Let cool. Purée in a blender until smooth.
- Cook purée, eggs, egg yolks, lime juice, salt, 1/2 cup sugar, and lime zest in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water (bowl should not touch water), stirring with a rubber spatula and scraping down sides of bowl often, until curd thickens and coats spatula, 8–10 minutes. Let cool until just warm.
- Using an electric mixer on medium-high, beat curd, adding butter a piece at a time and incorporating after each addition, until curd looks lighter in color and texture, about 5 minutes total. Scrape into crust and chill until firm, about 2 hours.
- Roll 12 reserved cranberries in a small bowl with about a tablespoon of corn syrup and dry them on a wire rack in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Toss the tacky dried cranberries in a bowl with 1/4 cup of sugar until the sugar is crusted all over. Serve topped on pie.
This looks amazing. Could I make the curd a few days ahead and then assemble the tart the morning I plan to serve? This would be perfect for my Ausmerican Thanksgiving on Saturday but I’m trying to do as much ahead as possible!
I don’t see why not Emilie. I have not done that myself, but as long as it’s covered and refrigerated it should be fine. I would let it sit out at room temperature a bit so it’s easier to spread in the pie shell. Have a wonderful Ausmerican Thanksgiving!
It worked beautifully. I made the crust and curd separately the day before and chilled the curd overnight. I got the bowl of curd out the next morning and left it on the counter for an hour or so. I gave it a quick whisk to loosen it a little more, poured it into the crust and then covered and chilled until it was time to serve. It was gone from the table in less than 10 minutes, but I can say the curd tasted fantastic and I will totally be making it again for Christmas with my family!
So happy to read this, thanks for coming back to report Emile!
This cranberry pie looks so beautiful and luscious, Kevin. I was going to say that the filling does remind me curd, and I was happy to find out it is indeed:) The combo of cranberries, ginger cookies, and walnuts is the best (I would add a little of cinnamon too). And what a gorgeous color too!
Hey there Ben! This truly is an amazing pie, so luscious and delicious. If you make it in the small tart size you won’t feel so guilty eating a couple of these either. 😉
Wow! Would this be a perfect pie for Christmas especially decorated with the sugared cranberries on top.
It definitely is one that makes one stop and look. Besides tasting amazing, it’s a win, win! Thanks Karen. 🙂
I love this recipe. It came from the November 2016 Bon Appetit issue!!
YES! I came across it researching cranberry pies.
I guess parent company Conde Nast merged Epicurious and Bon Appetit together. I first saw the recipe on Epicurious site last January and knew I had to make it.
Is this not an amazing pie? So delicious! 🙂
I love sweet-tangy desserts, so this is right up my alley! And you have me swooning over that thick crust – SO good!
Thanks Marissa, it was so good we had friends over the other weekend and Dave asked me to make it again.
As you know with food blogging, the holidays are always a month or two before they actually happen, right? We have already celebrated Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners already in this house. 🙂
The colour of this pie is out of this world, Kevin! So incredibly beautiful, and I’m sure it tastes as good as it looks.
Thanks John, it really does and that cookie crust is a wonderful pairing. Cheers!
If someone brought me this as a hostess gift I would be one happy girl! This is almost too pretty to eat, Kevin! I am LOVING that colour! I have cranberries in the freezer and this would be a perfect use for ’em! Happy weekend, my friend!
I love that cranberry lime flavor combo. With that crunchy gingersnap cookie crust, this is a favorite now. Thanks Dawn!
My God that’s the most gorgeous pie I’ve ever seen!! Haven’t made it but it’s gotta be fabulous!
Thanks Stacy. I promise it tastes as good as it looks. 🙂
Hey Kevin! Such a beautiful pie, It just looks like a holiday treat! i really like the mini idea for hoiday parties. Great flavor combination and those sugared berries. Great job my friend!
Thanks so much Dorothy, this is a keeper! 😉