Christmas is on its way and that means it’s time to whip out your culinary wizardry to impress friends and family. You know you need a dessert, but the dang bird is hogging all that oven real estate.

What’s a host to do? It’s Cranberry Creme Pie time baby. This tart and sweet mouth watering dessert is outside of the box while still having traditional flavors everyone loves. Plus the color is amazing!

Lakewood is a high end juice brand and one of the few to actually sell pure 100 percent cranberry juice that’s not cut with apple and grape. It makes this pie have its depth of flavor and tartness. You can usually find it at Publix but if you have to use Ocean Spray just know it won’t have as much impact and will be sweeter.

Chocolate Pecan Crust

1 ½  packages of chocolate graham crackers  (About 12 crackers)

2 sticks melted butter

¼ cup fine chopped pecans

1 tbsp brown sugar

pinch salt

In a food processor or blender. Turn the pecans and crackers into crumbs. Melt the butter with the sugar and salt and then mix this into the crackers and crumbs in a large bowl with a spoon. Spray a 9 inch pie pan down generously with non stick cooking spray to make cutting easier. Use a spoon to press the crumbs down into a crust on the pan and refrigerate while you make the filling.

Cranberry Creme Pie

¾ cup Lakewood Pure Cranberry Juice

¼ cup fresh Valencia orange juice

1 tsp fresh orange zest

1 ¼ cup sweetened condensed milk

1 cup cream cheese

1 large egg

1 packet knox unflavored gelatin (About 2 ¼ tsp)

4 tbsp boiling water

1 chocolate pecan pie crust

Zest, juice, and strain the orange before combining it with the zest and cranberry juice in a measuring cup. Then add in the condensed milk, cream cheese, and  beaten egg into mixer. Whip with a whisk attachment  until creamy and homogenous. Then add your juices and zest and whip again. In a separate small bowl add boiling water and pour gelatin pack into the water and stir quickly until dissolved.

Pour quickly into mixing bowl and give another quick mix to combine the gelatin water with the filling. Pour over crust and let sit for at least 8 hours to congeal. You could top this with whipped cream and mint or enjoy it as is.

So whats dessert without a drink? Boring if you ask me. After all I just made you buy and squeeze all this juice. Old JFL refuses to leave you hanging on ways to use it. So here’s my take on a Cosmopolitan tiki style. Incidentally Cosmo’s actually goes really well with turkey. Orgeat is a milky white almond syrup you can order online, but you can find recipes to make it at home and make it much better.

Cosmo Calypso

Ingredients

2 oz White Rum (Preferably Brugal or Flor De Cana)

¾  oz Lakewood Pure Cranberry Juice

¼   oz orange juice

½  oz Orgeat

½  oz Orange Curacao

Dash Peychaud’s Bitters

Shake with ice and strain up into a small coupe or cocktail glass.

Shake up your Christmas table with new takes on old favorites. The only tradition you really need is great flavors, and those you love.