Blend gingersnap cookies into a coarse crumb in a food processor.
Add sugar, melted butter, and ginger to the food processor, blending until mixture reaches the consistency of wet sand.
Press into the bottom and up the sides of a greased 9” pie pan.
Bake for 10 minutes. Cool completely before filling.
Pie Filling Instructions
Make a double boiler by setting a metal mixing bowl over a saucepan of water on medium-low heat.
In the bowl of the double boiler, combine 1/2 cup sugar, orange juice, egg yolks, and gelatin, stirring until thick.
Add orange zest, vanilla, and spices.
Chill mixture in the refrigerator until thick enough to form small mounds when dropped from a spoon. Start checking at around ten minutes and keep a close eye on it after. As you can imagine, it’s next to impossible to fold an airy cream (or meringue) through a solid, gelatinous mixture and end up with a homogenous filling.
In a separate bowl, whisk 1 cup heavy whipping cream with remaining 1/3 cup sugar.
Fold cream lightly through orange mixture until just combined.
Pour pie filling into crust and allow to set fully in the refrigerator.
Decorating Instructions
To serve, decorate with candied clementines, crushed gingersnaps, and fresh mint.
Notes
In developing a recipe for orange pie, I combined a classic inspiration – a recipe from Joy of Cooking – with the modern method of substituting whipped cream for egg whites. My pie is based on Irma Rombauer’s “Lemon or Lime Chiffon Pie” from the 1981 edition of Joy of Cooking. I used orange rather than lemon or lime (an option Rombauer suggests), added some warming winter spices, and (because I have been brainwashed into thinking that raw eggs have murderous intent) used whipped cream in lieu of egg whites.