Cherry Pie

Cherries are finally in season and I’m in love.  They are one of my favorite fruits, but I only get to enjoy them a few months out of the year.  The first time I see them in grocery store I’m completely overjoyed and immediately pick up a bag, no matter the price.  From that point on, we pretty much always have cherries until they go out of season. 

My favorite way to enjoy cherries is the simple, fresh way – eating them straight from the bowl with nothing added to them.  But if I want to do something special with the cherries, I make cherry pie.  

This filling of this pie is very simple.  It’s made up of cherries, sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla.  You make the filling on the stove until it turns into a thick, cherry mixture, and then pour in into a homemade crust.  Top the pie with another layer of dough and your done.  Of course you could use store-bought dough to make this pie easier, but a homemade crust adds an extra special touch to this pie.

Enjoy!

*This pie would be great to celebrate the 4^th of July!  A classic cherry pie to celebrate this special Patriotic day. 

Cherry Pie

For Printable Recipe, Click here!

Makes: 1 9-inch Deep Dish Pie

Pie Crust

3 cups All Purpose Flour, plus more for dusting the surface

18 tablespoons (2 sticks + 2 tablespoons) Unsalted Butter, Cold

1 teaspoon Salt

2 tablespoons Sugar

10 tablespoons Water, Very Cold

Cherry Filling

4 cups Fresh or Frozen Cherries, Pitted

1 cup Sugar

4 tablespoons Cornstarch

1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

For the Egg Wash

1 Egg

1 tablespoon Water

1 tablespoon Sugar, for Topping

To make the pie crust, start by cutting the butter into ¼ inch squares.  Put all the butter in a small bowl and place in the freezer until needed.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, salt, and sugar; mix just to combine.  Add in the butter and beat until the butter pieces are the size of small peas and the mixture resembles coarse meal.  Some butter pieces may not break down.  If this happens, use your hands to squeeze the mixture together to break up the larger pieces.

With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add in the very cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time.  Stop adding water when the mixture comes together and is in wet clumps.  Be sure to not add too much water – you don’t want to dough to be extremely wet.  You might not use all 5 tablespoons, or you might need to use more. 

Pour out all the dough onto a lightly floured surface.  Form the dough into a disc.  Flour all sides of the dough, and wrap the disc in plastic wrap.  Chill for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

While the dough is chilling, make the cherry filling.  Place the cherries in a medium saucepan over medium heat, and cover.  Allow the cherries to soften up and release all of their juices.  It will take about 15 minutes so be sure to stir the cherries a couple of times so they don’t stick to the bottom.  Once the cherries are completely soft and have extracted all their juices, remove the pan from heat.

In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and cornstarch.  Add the sugar mixture, along with the vanilla extract, to the cherries.  Stir the filling until the sugar and cornstarch are completely incorporated.  Return the pan to the stove and place over medium-low heat.  Stir until the filling has thickened, about 5-10 minutes.  Remove the pan from the stove and allow the filling to cool completely in the pan.

When the dough is done chilling, remove 1 disc from the refrigerator and place onto a floured surface.  Dust the top of the dough with flour and, using a rolling pin, roll out the dough until it is about 1/8 inch thick.  While you are rolling out the dough, be sure to check the bottom of the dough to make sure it is not sticking.  If it starts to stick, add more flour to the surface.  Carefully roll the dough up onto the rolling pin and transfer to the pie dish.

Pour the cooled filling inside the dish and place the pie in the refrigerator while you roll out the other disc of dough for the top crust.  Remove the remaining disc of dough from the refrigerator and place onto a floured surface.  Repeat the same process you did above while rolling out the first disc of dough. 

Once finished, remove the pie from the refrigerator and carefully transfer the rolled-out dough on top of the pie. Trim the edges of both the bottom and top dough layers to about ½ inch beyond the pan.  Tuck the top layer under the bottom layer and press together, so that the edges of the dough are flush with the pie pan.  Flute the edges by using your index finger and thumb to create a swirl-like edge.  Cut 4 slits in the dough to allow the filling to breath.  

If your dough has become soft, place the pie in the freezer for 5-10 minutes.  Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake until the crust is a deep golden brown, about 35-45 minutes.

Cool the pie on a wire rack until it reaches room temperature, about 3-4 hours.   If you like your pie warm, place a piece of pie in the microwave for 30 seconds.  Serve with vanilla ice cream.  Enjoy!

This pie lasts up to 7 days, covered in plastic wrap, in the refrigerator.

Filling recipe adapted from Food Network.