Cranberry Walnut Pie

This was one of the first pies I ever made for that first Thanksgiving back in 1996. I was inspired to make it from a recipe I read in a magazine at the time that suggested using dried berries and apricots. I am a HUGE fan Pecan pie and I had extra walnuts from various other recipes and had extra fresh cranberries from the Conserve I made that year.  So figured blend them.  

I was not really expecting my Brother and Sister to love this pie as much as they did. I half expected them to say it was a bitter pie from the cranberries. Nope, they LOVED it.  It is now and ever will be their all time favorite pie.  It goes faster than the pumpkin pie actually does if you can believe that.

1 Pie Crust  (I'm using whole foods GF Pie Crust ~ yum!)
3/4 cup Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
3/4 cup Maple Syrup (the real stuff)
2 Tablespoons Butter, melted
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1/4 teaspoon Salt
2 cups Walnuts, chopped
1 cup Fresh Cranberries (whole)

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Butter 8 inch pie plate and place your pastry dough to prepared dish.  Crimp edges.
• Beat sugar and eggs in mixing bowl.
• Add in maple syrup, melted butter, vanilla and salt.
• Stir in Walnuts and Cranberries (gently).  You can chop the berries if you choose, that is good also.  I like the whole berry look.
• Pour filling into crust.
• Bake pie for 45 minutes.
• Serve with whipped cream!