Name: Cranberry Meringue Pie
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 8
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1-1/4 cup sugar, divided; 1 cup water; 4 cups fresh cranberries, washed and dried; 1 tablespoon orange liquor, optional; 3 large eggs, divided; 1 tablespoon cornstarch; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 tablespoon butter; 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar; 9 " pie crust, baked

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Cranberry Meringue Pie. Up your pie game with this delicious twist on a classic! Slightly tart cranberry filling is topped with a toasted meringue for the perfect dessert recipe!

Show of hands, who has an obsession with beautiful cookbooks? I found this book (affiliate) while browsing the all-mighty Amazon and new it needed to be on my bookshelf.

A quick flip through and I had marked about 30 different pies I needed to make. One stood out above the rest. I snagged a giant bag of cranberries at Costco for $2 and got to work.

Recipe Features:

Unique Flavor: This cranberry pie steps out of the norm and delivers bold flavor.
Thanksgiving Favorite: If you love cranberry sauce, you will love this recipe!

What You’ll Need:

Can we take a second to appreciate the beauty of the fresh fruit pictured above? How about some tips and tricks before we get started? I know I can always use a few helpful suggestions when it comes to pie crust.

Sugar
Water
Fresh cranberries
Orange liquor- Which can be swapped for regular orange juice or left out completely.
Eggs
Cornstarch
Salt
Vanilla
Butter
Cream of tartar
Pie crust

For a full list of ingredients and their measurements see the recipe card below.

Step by Step Instructions:

Combine the water and 1 cup of sugar in a heavy bottom saucepan and cook on high heat until the sugar is dissolved.
Stir in the cranberries and orange liquor. Lower the heat to medium and cook 10 minutes making sure to stir occasionally.
While your cranberries are cooking down, combine the egg yolks, cornstarch, and salt in a small bowl. Whisk until smooth. Stir in a small amount of the hot cranberry mixture making sure to mix quickly to temper the eggs.
Add the yolk mixture to the saucepan and simmer 5 minutes or until the filling has thickened.
Stir in the vanilla extract and butter and transfer to your pie crust.
In a mixing bowl whisk the egg yolks and cream of tartar until foamy. Add the sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form.
Spread over your pie and broil until the top is browned.

Tips for baking perfect pie

Handle the dough as little as possible. You want the butter to stay cold. This is what helps create that beautiful flaky crust.
Use chilled ingredients. Cold butter. I’ll repeat. You want COLD butter. I recommend using chilled ingredients and refrigerating after each step in the crust making process.
Use foil or a pie shield (affiliate). The crust around the edges will likely burn before your filling has set. The simple solution is to create a shield around the crust while it bakes. Another option? Grab this crust shield (affiliate) from Amazon!

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