Chirstmastime cranberries combined with creamy sour cream, decadent mascarpone cheese and topped with sugared cranberries. Holiday Spirit Pie!
Ingredients
1 cuppure cane sugar
1cupwhole cranberries
1/4cupwater
1 tablespoonClearjel or cornstarch PLUS 2 tablespoons water
1/2cuppure cane powdered sugar
8ouncesmascarpone or cream cheese
1cup sour cream
1preparedgraham cracker crust
Sugared Cranberries
1/2cuppure cane sugar
1/2cupwater
1 cup cranberries
1/3cupAdditional 1/3 cup sugar to coat berries
Instructions
Sugared Cranberries
Combine the 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water in a small sauce pan on medium heat until sugar is dissolved (about 3 to 4 minutes).
Once the sugar is dissolved remove the sauce pan from heat and add the cranberries.
Stir gently to coat cranberries and remove cranberries immediately with a slotted spoon and transfer to a wire rack to let dry. (The cranberries may start popping if left too long in the hot simple syrup.)
After the berries have cooled and dried (about 30 minutes to an hour), roll them in the additional granulated sugar. Use as garnish for your pie.
Cranberry Filling & Pie Assembly
In a sauce pan combine sugar and 1/4 cup water, and cranberries.Over medium to medium-high heat cook and stir until cranberries pop, about 5 to 7 minutes.Continue to simmer the berries long enough to break up the berries with a potato masher or a couple of quick pulses of an immersion blender (you want smooth & chunky, like jam).
In a small bowl combine 2 tablespoons water with 1 tablespoon cornstarch, stir into mashed berries. Simmer until thickened and the opaqueness from cornstarch has cooked out, about 2 minutes.
Pour mixture into a separate bowl and refrigerate to fully cool (about 1 hour).
In a separate bowl whip together the powdered sugar and mascarpone (or cream cheese) until fluffy.
Beat in sour cream and fold in cooled cranberry mixture.
For a marbled effect, fold in just a little to swirl the cranberry mixture with sour cream mixture. If you want a perfectly pink cranberry pie fold and stir until thoroughly combined.
Spread into prepared crust. Garnish with whipped cream and sugared cranberries.
Notes
You will need 2 cups cranberries total (1 cup for filling and 1 cup for the sugared cranberries).