Sour Cherry Pie
Saturday, June 9th, 2012Sour cherry pie is one of the very easiest yet most delicious kinds of pie. The only problem is you need sour cherries. My mother-in-law grows and cans her own, and I’ve been lucky enough to receive several jars over the past few years. But since there is NO WAY I am giving up my stash, you’ll have to track some down yourself. I know Oregon Fruit has tart cherries, so check with their other fruit at your grocery store (or order them from Amazon).
Once you have the cherries in your hot little hands, this recipe is easy as…well, you know.
Sour Cherry Pie
Crust:
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup shortening
5-6 tablespoons ice cold water
Throw the flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Toss in the shortening too and then mash it up with a fork until it’s in little pieces. Don’t mix it TOO well, since the little pieces of shortening in the crust is what makes it flaky. Add cold water about a tablespoon at a time until the dough is sticky enough to hold together. Do most of your mixing with the fork but make sure you test it by squishing it together with your hands or you’ll end up adding too much water. Separate the dough into to balls. Roll it out one ball, press into a 9 inch pie plate and crimp the edges. Roll out the second ball and cut into 8-10 1/4 inch wide strips.
Filling
3 1/2 – 4 cups canned tart cherries (approx. 1 quart)
1 cup sugar
1 tsp almond extract
1 tablespoon corn starch
Drain the cherries but save 1 cup of the juice. Combine juice, sugar, extract and corn starch in a small sauce pan and heat until sugar is dissolved and mixture thickens. Pour cherries into the prepared crust and then pour the juice mixture over it. Use the strips of crust to make a lattice top, weaving them over and under. Pinch the edges together all the way around.
Bake at 400 degrees for 50 minutes or until filling it bubbly and the crust is lightly browned.
I SUPPOSE you could also use store bought crust to make this even easier, if you hated deliciousness. And America.
Eat and enjoy!
