I’m always on the lookout for new pie recipes that I might make for Thanksgiving, and fresh, seasonal cranberries are one of my favorite November foods. So when I saw a hundred-year-old recipe for Fig and Cranberry Pie, I decided to give it a try.
The pie turned out beautifully with a lovely purple filling. The sweetness of the figs and the tartness of the cranberries perfectly balanced each other. If you didn’t tell your holiday guests which fruits were in the pie, I don’t think that they’d ever guess. My husband said that the pie wasn’t too sweet and it wasn’t too sour, but (ala Goldilocks) it was just right.
The recipe is a keeper.
Here’s the original recipe:
Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
Fig and Cranberry Pie
1/2 pound (8 ounces) figs, chopped
2 cups water
2 cups cranberries
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
2 tablespoons butter
juice from 1/2 of small lemon
milk
sugar
pastry for 2-crust 10-inch pie (It might possibly fit in a 9-inch pie shell, but it would be really full.)
Put chopped figs and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil using high heat, then reduce heat and simmer until the figs are tender (about 15 minutes). Add the cranberries and continue cooking until the cranberries pop.
In the meantime, put the sugar and flour in a small bowl, and stir until combined.
Once the cranberries have popped, gradually add the flour and sugar mixture while stirring constantly. Continue cooking and stirring until the mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in the butter and lemon juice.
Preheat oven to 425° F. Turn cooked fig and cranberry mixture into pastry-lined pie pan. Cut the second pie dough circle into strips and make a lattice top crust and flute edges. Brush crust with a small amount of milk; sprinkle with sugar. Bake in oven for 10 minutes; then reduce heat to 350 degrees. Bake an additional 20 to 30 minutes or until crust is lightly browned and juice just begins to bubble.
A Hundred Years Ago 
Oh what a wonderful pie. I copied the recipe. I want to try it. I am canning cranberries today with just sugar to use later. Thanks for sharing your research and recipe.
You’re welcome. It’s nice to hear that this is a recipe you plan to make. Home-canned cranberries sound wonderful. I’d never thought about canning cranberries – and have never seen them except in the small plastic bags that they are typically sold in at supermarkets.
Definitely putting on the to do – a great way to use fresh cranberries while minimizing cane sugar load.
I hadn’t thought about it until I read your comment, but you’re right. Since figs are sweet, there is less need for sugar when they are mixed with the cranberries.
Plus. the great consistency they added.
That is an interesting combination.
It is a nice combination. I was pleased with how this recipe turned out.. When I make a recipe like this one with an unusual combination of ingredients I’m never quite sure what to expect.
That looks so good. I love cranberry!
If you like cranberries, I think that you would like this recipe.
I am also fond of figs, so this is right up my alley.
This looks so tasty. The addition of figs is very intriguing.
It was yummy. My general sense is that figs were more popular a hundred years ago than today – so it may have seemed less like an unusual combination back then.
This looks really delicious, and everything is in season right now!
Each Fall, I look forward to when cranberries appear in the produce aisle at the store. They are available for such a short period of time.
And luckily, they keep really well!
I’m thinking the figs must be dried. My parents had fig trees in Tennessee, and they would have been ripe in the summer. This would be a wonderful pie for Thanksgiving.
Yes, I used dried figs. Until I read your comment, I hadn’t realized that figs grew as far north as Tennessee.
Every few years the fig trees would be killed back to the roots by cold weather. They would recover, but it took a few seasons for them to produce a good crop again.
This sounds like a delicious combination definitely one to try 🙂
I think that you’ll enjoy this pie.
My mouth watered just reading this recipe! I’m going shopping Monday and figs and cranberries are now on the list!!
It’s a nice recipe. I think that you’ll like it.
Oh…this looks delicious!
It’s yummy.
Thanks for another great recipe, Sheryl!
It looks and sounds delicious, but I think it needs a new name…There are kids (and husbands) who would immediately turn up their nose at the name Fig and Cranberry Pie…I’ll work on it…😀
Good suggestion – It’s interesting how names of foods can affect whether someone thinks they will like (or dislike) a dish before they ever even give it a try. If you come up with a better name, you’ll have to let me know what it is.
Copying this! The combo sounds heavenly! Since I am not an avid pie-maker, I plan to turn it into a galette (and vegan-ize it with coconut butter) for the holidays. Thank you for the inspiration! (Your photo is lovely!)
A fig and cranberry gallette sounds wonderful. Thanks for the kind words about the photo. Some of my food pictures turn out better than others. I’m still working on my food photography skills.
Sounds great. Just printed the recipe. Thanks.
It’s tasty. I think that you’ll like this recipe.
Impressive 😌
It’s a nice pie.
Beautiful looking crust and filling 😍. I want to do a different kind of Thanksgiving dessert too. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thank you! I enjoy making pies.
Yummy food 😋
It’s delicious.