Go Back Email Link
apple cranberry pandowdy
Print

Apple Cranberry Pandowdy

A festive fall fruit bake.
Course Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings 8

Ingredients

  • 3.5 lbs Apples about 6-7, cut into quarter inch slices
  • 1 cup Cranberries fresh, or thawed if frozen
  • 1/3 cup Brown sugar packed
  • 3 Tbsp All-purpose flour
  • 1 Tbsp Lemon juice
  • 1 tsp Cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp Nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp Cloves
  • 1/4 tsp Allspice
  • 2-3 Tbsp Butter cut into pats
  • 1 Pie crust
  • 1 Tbsp Milk
  • 2 tsp Turbinado sugar

Instructions

  • Prepare your favorite pie crust (see recipe notes for mine) as instructed in the recipe, and set aside. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
  • In a large bowl, mix the apples and cranberries together. Top with brown sugar, flour, lemon juice, and spices. Toss until well combined, and transfer the apple mixture to a cast iron skillet, and dot with the pats of butter
  • Roll out the pie crust until it's large enough to fit over your skillet. Then top in one of two ways: Either place the entire crust over top the filling, and use a sharp knife to cut a tiles into the crust, or cut it into 1-inch tiles first, and scatter those over the top of the filling. 
  • Brush the top of the crust pieces with milk, and sprinkle evenly with the turbinado sugar. Bake for 1 hour, or until the filling is bubbling, and the crust is golden brown on top. 
  • Let cool for at least 20-30 minutes. Serve warm with fresh whipped cream or a scoop of cinnamon ice cream. This is best served immediately, but will keep covered tightly in plastic wrap at room temperature for a couple days. Just warm in the microwave before serving. 

Notes

  • Use your favorite buttery pie crust recipe for this pandowdy. A good tasting crust makes a huge difference. I recommended the All Butter Pie Crust from the cookbook Sweeter Off the Vine by Yossy Arefi.
  • Don't worry too much about the appearance. Unlike pies, pandowdies are supposed to be a little disheveled. It adds to that homey character!
  • If you're not a fan of cranberries, you can leave them out, and add in an extra apple cut into slices.
  • For the apples, I use a mix of local upstate NY apples, but you can use any that you can easily find that are good for baking. Granny smiths, galas, and pink ladies are some good choices.