This Cranberry Curd Pie will WOW your holiday guests

Every year, I usually panic buy 2 or 3 bags of fresh cranberries, worried there’s going to be a shortage.

Once I make cranberry sauce and then cranberry sauce muffins, and I still have some left, that’s when this cranberry curd tart happens.

It starts with a classic graham cracker crust with some cinnamon added for extra flavor. There are also gluten free crust options, which I discuss below.

Then, fresh cranberries, orange juice, orange peel and sugar come together on the stove in very much the same way you’d make a traditional cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving (except you’ll be blending it smooth and adding eggs to make it custardy). 

The end result is a dessert with a striking appearance and a tart-but-perfectly sweet taste.

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With Valentine’s Day coming up, I can indeed confirm that the way to my husband’s heart is chocolate. While he’d be OK with vanilla bean creme brulee or even a stuffed apple just about any other day of the year, I know what he wants for dessert on Valentine’s Day.

One year I made him decadent Nigella Lawson brownies, and he loved them. Another year, I made him the brownies from the Zingerman’s Bakehouse cookbook, and he went wild. Sometimes I’ll even make Baileys brownies as an early St. Patrick’s Day / Valentine’s hybrid situation.

So this year, I’m going to keep sticking with what I know works and making him . . . chocolate brownies (after honey mustard pork chops or maybe lamb bolognese for dinner). But with a spin, of course.

This chocolate brownie pie recipe takes, what is in my opinion, the best part of any pie (the crust) and fills it with a rich, decadent and just simply great chocolate brownie. Cut it into tiny slices or big wedges – we won’t tell anybody!

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If the first thing you think when you look at this apple tart is “there’s no way I can make that,” think again. Seriously, I’m SO not a baker or a “pastry person”.

I’m MUCH more comfortable with savory things like salmon pasta or lasagna recipe cottage cheese. There’s a reason 98% of the recipes on this blog are for savory foods or cocktails.

In fact, TRUE STORY: in culinary school, the pastry instructor forced me to BUY one of the cakes I made in class and take it home because it was so ugly.

Chef said my cake was so messed up that he couldn’t sell it at the school’s bake shop, so I would have to purchase it myself. Talk about embarrassing. I couldn’t wait to get out of that class and into a savory rotation.

So yeah, when I say I’m not a baker or pastry person, I mean it (although I can whip up a mean batch of Thanksgiving Rice Krispies treats). Since that experience, I’ve been on a mission to create beautiful, delicious things that are actually attainable for home cooks.

My frozen yogurt pie, cranberry curd pie and coconut creme brulee are some of my favorite examples, along with the apple rose dessert I’m sharing today.

So, stir up an apple cider mule, and let’s walk through this Apple Rose Tart with Peanut Butter Custard, element by element. We’ve got this.

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My summer is certainly shaping up to be better than the last one, and I hope that’s true for you, too! More fun, more safe gatherings, more enjoying every second!

If you have any plans for a cookout or get together this summer, I highly recommend a menu of grilled buttermilk chicken with my apple cider vinegar coleslaw recipe and Mexican street corn salad recipe on the side. Plus some agave lemonade. And of course, you can’t forget dessert.

You probably already know about my love of Greek yogurt in recipes like Greek yogurt mashed potatoes, healthy buffalo chicken dip and Greek yogurt pasta. Well, it’s perfect for a frozen dessert, too!

This Frozen Yogurt Pie is the ideal way to celebrate just how great this summer is really going to be. It combines a delectable graham cracker crust (I mean, who doesn’t love a graham cracker crust?), a creamy yogurt filling, and the prettiest fresh fruit.

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So, here’s the thing. I am somebody that loves hosting get togethers. I don’t do it as often as I should, but when I do, I love it. But I am, by my own admission, not the chillest of hosts. I overthink everything about the gathering and the way the day will go to the point of absurdity.

Will the dishwasher hold all the dishes? When should I start the grill? Who will scoop the ice cream for affogato coffee? Will it make a mess? On and on and on.

I’ve found that the best way to quell the overthinking voices in my head is to serve food, drinks and desserts that are prepped almost entirely in advance. The kind that you make the day (or the week) before and just pull out at the last moment and serve.

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This one’s for all the not-perfect pie bakers out there. The ones who struggle with the crust so much that they almost want to give up before they even begin. Hi. I see you.

For my first attempt at pie crust for this pie (there’s almost always a first attempt and a second attempt for me), I used a chunk of frozen pie dough that I had made at a pie-making class a few months ago (yes, I’ve even taken pie classes).

I got it pressed into the pan, looking all pretty, and then forgot to dock the crust (i.e. poke it with a fork). When it blind baked (the pre-baking of just the crust before you add the filling, that I also use for chocolate brownie pie), the crust inflated and then deflated, and I was left with a shriveled mess. Sigh.

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If you’ve been reading this blog for awhile, you know that I would ALWAYS choose a cheese course over a dessert. With the except of maaaaaaaaybe key lime pie flew in from the freaking Florida Keys, if a cheese course is an option rather than dessert, I’m going with the cheese.

I guess I kind of break the mold that way. But in fact, in many countries around the world, meals are finished with a bit of cheese instead of something sweet.

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I’ve always wanted to be that cool aunt for somebody else. Since Jeff and I are both only children, we’ll actually never have biological nieces and nephews. So when our friends started having kids, we were ALL OVER the honorary titles of “aunt” and “uncle.” (more…)

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While I’ve never been a fan of desserts that are too sweet, I would never bat an eye at anybody else for their love of sweets.

But recently, I was watching some TV cooking competition, and the judges jumped all over a competitor for his dessert being too sweet.

I was sitting at home, thinking/yelling at the TV, “I get it. But desserts are sweet. You can’t be mad when they’re TOO sweet!”

Anybody else yell at their TV during “Chopped”? Just me?

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