United Cakedom: Creamy Cranberry Pie with a Pretzel Crust

This is an awkward post to write. The pie looks beautiful and it tastes good. However it’s not what I was expecting.

Expectations can make or break anything.

If there is a movie that has great reviews saying it’s the funniest movie in a decade; naturally the expectations will be high for a hilarious movie. Once the movie has been viewed and there was only a laugh here or there, disappointment will inevitably follow.

If reviews hadn't been seen previous to viewing the same hypothetical movie, the laughs may have been the same, but as there were no expectations there wouldn't be any disappointment.

I wanted this pie to be more cranberry and less cream cheesey. There was a lack of tartness that I was expecting from the cranberries to balance out the cream cheese and whipping cream.

It could have been because I used homemade cranberry sauce or it could just be the recipe? Plus the recipe for the filling made way too much. Almost enough for a whole other pie!

I saw the recipe in a Better Home and Gardens magazine I picked up when I was in America and immediately knew I wanted to make it. It looked like the perfect addition to any Thanksgiving dessert menu. My expectations were high being a Better Home and Gardens recipe as my sister swears by them.

Saying that this isn't a bad pie, it is definitely creamy so it delivers on the title. It also reminds me more of a cranberry cheesecake than that of a cranberry pie.

Plus, the salty pretzel crust is amazing and it does help balance the sweet creaminess of the pie.

It’s not bad! I just wanted it to be something different!

The recipe is available on the Better Home and Gardens site here, if you are interested in making it for your holiday season. Hey, you never know after reading this your expectations may be extremely low and therefore it will taste pretty darn good.

If I were to tweak it I would start by possibly halving all the ingredients. Then I think I would eliminate the sugar from the pie filling. The reason being that there is a lot of sugar in the homemade cranberry sauce and I don’t know that the pie actually needed it.