Wash 5 or 6 medium sized pie apples.

These came off the tree in the orchard, so I have no idea what kind they are. If you are purchasing some, choose a tart apple, like Granny Smith.

 

Peel, core and slice apples.

This is a Pampered Chef apple peeler, corer, slicer which I’ve had for several years and it still works great.

I have found that large apples tend to have softer centers, so tend to not core as well as medium or small apples. I’ve also found that chilling the apples in the fridge overnight before using them, will make them slice more easily.

 

Soak 1/2 cup of dried cranberries in 1 cup of cool water, for at least 30 minutes before using.

In medium saucepan, mix together 1 1/2 cups sugar, 4 Tbsp cornstarch and 1/2 tsp cinnamon.

Add in the 1 cup of cool water that the cranberries have been soaking in, along with the cranberries.

Make sure the cornstarch is distributed evenly with the sugar, before adding the water, to help avoid lumps.

 

Add in apples slices.

Over medium heat, bring to a boil and then boil for 3 minutes.

Remove from heat.

Add in 1 tsp of vanilla and/or 1 tsp almond flavoring.

 

Smoosh 8 ounces of almond paste into little flat disks and then form a layer in the bottom of the pie crust. Don’t smoosh the almond paste while it’s in the pan or you will mess up your pie crust.

 

Am I the only person who wonders why some ground almonds make up almond paste, while other ground almonds make up almond butter? Almond paste and almond butter are so different, how can they both be just ground almonds???

It’s okay. I’m probably the only person who wonders why when you take the pumpkin seeds out of a pumpkin, they are white. But when you buy them in the store, they are green. What’s with that?

 

Pour apple-cranberry mixture into pie crust.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Top pie with top crust and seal edges.

Bake pie at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 30 minutes.

This is a Pampered Chef deep dish pie pan. I like it because it can accommodate the amount of filling that this recipe makes.

You would think I’m trying to sell Pampered Chef, huh? But I used to work with a lady who sold it, and I just really like some of their products. I’m sure there’s other products out there that work just as well 🙂

You can see how the almond paste makes a nice layer at the bottom of the pie 🙂

This makes for a yummy, not-too-sweet pie 🙂