Cranberry Lime Pie

This was one of the best things I’ve made in a long time! The recipe is from Bon Appétit. It would be perfect for the holidays, though I made it between Thanksgiving and Christmas (I swear, I’m catching up on this backlog of recipes!). The only thing I’d change is that I’d halve the amount of cranberries for the topping (I had too many and didn’t use most of them in the picture). I’d also save some lime zest to decorate the top of the pie; those changes are reflected below. This was really great and I’ll be making it again!

For the crust
4 oz. gingersnap cookies (I ended up using gingerbread cookies)
1 cup pecans
4 Tbsp. lactose-free butter, melted
3 Tbsp. light brown sugar

For the filling and assembly
1 12-oz. package fresh (or frozen, thawed) cranberries, plus 2 oz. (about 2/3 cup) for serving
2 cups granulated sugar, divided
3 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
2 tsp. finely grated lime zest, divided (plus more zest for serving)
½ cup fresh lime juice
1 pinch kosher salt
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) lactose-free butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces

For the crust
Preheat oven to 350 °F. Pulse cookies in a food processor until very finely ground (you should have about 1 cup). Add pecans; pulse until finely ground. Add butter and brown sugar; pulse to combine. Transfer to a deep 9" pie dish. Using a measuring cup, press firmly onto bottom and up sides of dish. Bake until firm and slightly darkened in color, 10–15 minutes. If crust slides down sides, gently press back up. Let cool.

For the filling and assembly
Bring 12 oz. cranberries, 1 cup granulated sugar, and ¼ cup water to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high. Reduce heat; simmer until cranberries burst and most of the liquid evaporates, 12–15 minutes. Let cool. Purée in a blender until very smooth.

Cook purée, eggs, egg yolks, lemon zest, lime juice, salt, ½ cup sugar, and 1 tsp. lime zest in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water (bowl should not touch water), stirring with a rubber spatula (I would actually start with a whisk) and scraping down sides of bowl often, until curd thickens and coats spatula, 8–10 minutes. (At this point, I ran the mixture through a sieve.) Let cool until just warm.

Using an electric mixer on medium-high, beat curd, adding butter a piece at a time and incorporating after each addition, until curd looks lighter in color and texture, about 5 minutes. Scrape into crust and chill until firm, about 2 hours.

Bring ¼ cup granulated sugar and ¼ cup water to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add remaining 2 ounces cranberries and cook until barely starting to soften, about 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer cranberries to a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet. Chill until no longer sticky, 20–30 minutes.

Toss remaining ¼ cup granulated sugar and 1 tsp. lime zest in a small bowl. Toss cranberries in lime sugar. Top pie with cranberries and additional lime zest; serve with whipped cream. (The pie, without the topping, can be made 2 days ahead. Cover once filling is firm and keep chilled. Let sit at room temperature 2 hours before serving.)