Cherry Pie

A couple weeks ago, a friend of ours stopped by with a ton of cherries from her cherry tree.  I never buy cherries because they are always over $2 per pound so it was a treat!  They were delicious just for eating, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to bake something delicious.  I ended up with some mini cherry pies and a cherry crumble!  Yum!

Aren't they pretty?

I opted to make three little pies rather than one big pie to conserve the cherries and have fun with different top crusts.  The recipe is for a regular 9-inch pie.  And the best part?  You don’t have to cook the filling first!!

Keep in mind that the amount of sugar will vary depending on the type of cherries you are using.  I’m not sure what type of cherries I had.  They were sweet enough to eat, but not super sweet.  If using sour cherries, you’ll want more sugar; if using super sweet cherries, back off on the sugar.

For the pie crust, I used my tender and flaky pie crust recipe.

Tender and flaky pie crust with strawberry filling.

Cherry Pie

3 lb. pitted cherries

2 c. sugar (more or less depending on type of cherries)

4-4½ Tbsp. cornstarch

3 Tbsp. water

1½ Tbsp. lemon juice

½ Tbsp. almond extract

⅜ tsp. salt

1 batch tender and flaky pie crust
3 Tbsp. butter, diced

In large bowl, combine all ingredients except crust; stir to combine.  Let sit about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Notice the graininess of the sugar on the cherries.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425°.  Roll out bottom crust and place in pie plate.  Pour filling into crust; dot with butter.

The graininess goes away as they sit and even
more as the pie bakes.

Roll out top crust and seal over filling.  Cut steam vents in crust.  Place pie plate in oven on a piece of foil to catch any drippings; bake 30 minutes.

Reduce oven to 350° and continue to bake 25-35 minutes, or until crust is golden and filling bubbles out.  If crust browns too quickly, loosely cover with a piece of foil until filling is done.  Cool on wire rack.

This is why you need the foil---that goo would have
been burned to the bottom of my oven.

So delicious!

Be sure to check back next week for cherry crumbles!!