Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away, and now is the time to start testing and playing around with your holiday meal plans! Or at least that is my hope that I will be that organized and motivated. Luckily last weekend I was invited to attend a virtual workshop with Williams Sonoma featuring Claire Saffitz and her new cookbook Dessert Person. I have been a long time fan of Claire’s since her days at Bon Appetit, and I cannot wait to get her new cookbook in my hands just in time for the holidays. Needless to say I was beyond thrilled to watch Claire demo this absolutely stunning Cranberry-Pomegranate Mousse Pie. I took the whole workshop very seriously, having all of my ingredients prepped and in bowls, the kitchen clean, wearing my favorite apron, just hoping to soak in as much knowledge that I could from Claire!

And I’m here to tell you that this pie is absolutely perfect. Not only is it just the prettiest colored pie I have ever seen, it is so delicious, the whole family agreed we should add this to our Thanksgiving meal. It may seem like there is a lot of steps, but as someone who often doesn’t feel like a pie expert, this pie is very easy to assemble. Just follow the steps and notes, for the compote, make it really thick and jammy. For the mousse, don’t over fold otherwise the consistency will lose its lightness. When warming up the gelatin, really make sure it is liquid and you no longer see any granules. Beyond those key moments, the pie is simple to make, light and fluffy, a little sweet with tartness, and my favorite graham cracker crust. The original recipe Claire calls for Biscoff cookies (like the kind you get on the Delta flights), which I am sure if delicious, but I love a graham cracker crust. Alternatively, you could also use crispy ginger cookies for a great crust.

Top with whipped cream, make it nice by doing a few swishes with the back of your spoon. But try to not overthink the whipped cream placement. And there you go, the prettiest pink pie for Thanksgiving, or Christmas, or just for fun, because you deserve it!

Cranberry-Pomegranate Mousse Pie
Serves 8 - Makes a 9” Pie

INGREDIENTS
Graham Cracker Crust
1 1/2 cups finely ground graham crackers
1/3 cup white sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Cranberry-Pomegranate Mousse
2 wide strips orange zest
1 cinnamon stick or 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of kosher salt
10 ounces fresh cranberries, about 2 1/2 cups
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup unsweetened pomegranate juice
2 cups (16 oz) heavy cream, chilled
1 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin powder
2 tablespoons powdered sugar

STEPS
Make your Graham Cracker Crust: Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, melted butter and cinnamon until well blended. I like to do this in a food processor. Press the mixture into a 9” pie plate. Bake for 7-10 minutes until golden and crisp. Remove the pie from the oven and allow to cool for 1 hour.

Make the Cranberry Compote: In a small saucepan, combine the orange zest, cinnamon, salt, cranberries, 1 cup of granulated sugar, and 1 cup of pomegranate juice. Bring the mixture to a boil, and cook, stirring often until the cranberries have burst and the mixture is a very thick jam consistency, anywhere from 12-16 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Set a fine-mesh sieve over a medium bowl and scrape the thick jammy compote into the sieve. Really push the mixture with a rubber spatula forcing the mixture through the mesh. Discard the solids. Whisk in 1/2 cup heavy cream into the compote until completely smooth. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 25-30 minutes until cool.

Soften the gelatin: In the small saucepan (rinsed and wiped out from the cranberry compote), add 3 tablespoons cold water, then sprinkle the gelatin over top. Do not stir. Set aside and allow the gelatin to soften for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, add 1 cup of cold heavy cream into a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or into a large bowl is using a hand mixer), and beat starting at medium-low and increasing the speed to medium-high as the cream thickens, until you have firm peaks. Refrigerate the cream until you need it.

Remove the cooled cranberry mixture from the refrigerator, give it a few good whisks to smooth out the texture. Place the gelatin saucepan over low heat and gently warm the mixture, swirling the pan until the gelatin is melted and liquid, free of granules. (This stage is really important to make sure all of the gelatin liquifies). Remove the saucepan from the heat and whisk the liquid gelatin into the cranberry mixture.

Assemble the cranberry mousse: Remove the whipped cream from the refrigerator and scrape about half of it into the cranberry mixture. Fold just a few times until very few streaks remain. Fold in the remaining whipped cream until you have a light, uniform mixture, make sure to fold but to not over-mix. Scrape the cranberry mousse into the prepared graham cracker crust.

Smooth the top of the mousse and refrigerate until the mousse is set, at least 4 hours. After the first 90 minutes, cover the pie with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming.

Time to serve: Whip the remaining 2/3 cup chilled heavy cream until you have soft peaks. Then add the powdered sugar and beat just a a little bit longer. Remove your set pie from the refrigerator and top with whipped cream on top of the pie. Cut into wedges and serve.