Cranberry Streusel Pie

What can I say about this pie? I just can't understand how it can be so good. About 10 years ago I found the recipe in a magazine and jotted it down because I obsessively jot down any recipe using fresh cranberries. They are my favorite fall fruit and we have several dishes at Thanksgiving dinner that feature these beautiful ruby colored berries. Any recipe calling for them is instantly in running for my new fall dish. In fact, as I write this I have a cranberry apple breakfast crisp in the oven. An interesting fact about cranberries is that they are the only true American fruit. They were growing here long before the first Europeans landed on this fine land of ours. Another fun thing about cranberries is that children always want to taste them and they always forget how tart they are. Every year I get to trick my kids with a fresh cranberry. Ah, fun times!

Now about the pie, it became an instant favorite in my family. The only dilemma we have is that the original recipe calls for walnuts and my dad thinks the only nut worth eating is a pecan. (Except for boiled peanuts. Don't ask, it's a southern thing.) So we put pecans in it for Dad and either way it's about the best pie you ever put in your mouth. My husband's family loved it too and I always make one to send to Grandma and Grandpa. Just trying to be the favorite!

Cranberry Streusel Pie

2 cups fresh cranberries

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 egg

1/3 cup sugar

3 Tablespoons flour

4 Tablespoons butter, melted

1 unbaked pie shell

Toss together the cranberries, brown sugar, white sugar, nuts and cinnamon. Spoon into the pie shell and spread out as evenly as you can. Whisk the egg and add the sugar, flour and butter. Pour over cranberry mixture in the pie shell. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 20 minutes, reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake for 30 minutes more. If you are using a glass pie plate, carefully check the bottom of the crust to make sure it is nice and browned. A undercooked gummy bottom crust is a violation of all that is good and right. However a properly browned bottom crust will make you everyone's hero or at least help you sleep better at night. So round up your ingredients and make this pie today or on Thursday, you'll be glad you did!