I have been asked for the recipe for my cherry pie often and have intended to add it to this page for some time. Finally getting to it… This recipe makes 1 12″ pie

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 2 cups Flour
• 1 tsp Salt
• 2/3 cup Butter Flavored Crisco
• 2 TBS Unsalted Butter
• 5 TBS Ice Cold Water

Filling:

• 2 Pounds IQF Sour Cherries
• 1 1/3 cups Granulated Sugar
• 3+ TBS Minute Tapioca
• 2 TBS Kirschwasser
• 2 tsp Imitation Vanilla
• 2 TBS Unsalted Butter

Directions: Start thawing aproximately 2 pound of IQF (individually quick frozen) sour pie cherries in a colander inside of a mixing bowl. I purchase premium IQF cherries in bulk from a local wholesaler, but a near equivalent product could be purchased from your neighborhood supermarket. Thaw them until they are pretty soft but still cold. If you thaw them too long they will lose too much of their juices. If they are not thawed enough you will need to add oven time for the filling to come to a boil inside the pie. When the cherries are ready, begin preheating the oven to 450° F. Then start puting together the pie filling. Start by wisking together 1 1/3 cups sugar with 3 tablespoon of minute tapioca. Mix thouroghly before adding the next ingredients. Add 2 teaspoons of vanilla.And now for the ‘secret ingredient’. Kirsch! According to Encyclopedia Britannica Kirschwasser or Kirsch is a dry, colourless brandy distilled from the fermented juice of the black morello cherry and is made in the Black Forest of Germany. Irregardless of what it is or where it comes from Kirsch gives this cherry pie a little extra “ooomph”!! Add 2 tablespoon of kirsch to the sugar mixture and mix together thoroughly before going further. Now carefully fold the thawed cherries (be careful not to crush them) into the sugar mixture and set aside (photo right).

Now begin making the crust by sifting 2 cups of flour with 1 teaspoon of salt into a different mixing bowl. Add 2/3 cup butter flavored Crisco and 2 tablespoon of chilled unsalted butter. Use a pastry blender (I use a table fork, works better for me) to combine until mixture is about the size of small gravel (photo left). At this point add 5 tablespoons of very cold water (ice water). It is important NOT to overmix the dough once the water is added as it will alter the texture of the finished crust. Just fold together enough to get everything stuck together. Divide dough into two parts and roll out the first part for your bottom crust. I use a silicone pie mat for this. If you don’t have one available consider using a sheet of wax paper. Once rolled out, flip dough onto your pie pan and carefully center it down into the pan. Roll out top crust the same way and leave on your mat or wax paper until ready to cover pie. Dump the pie filling into the bottom crust you placed into the pie pan making sure you get all of the yummy stuff scraped out of the mixing bowl and fairly evenly distributed into the pie shell. You’re not quite ready to cover the pie yet though. I sprinkle a little more tapioca onto the pie filling at this point (not more then about a teaspoon). Then drop thin slices of chilled unsalted butter onto the top of the pie. About 2 tablespoons worth. Now cover the pie with the top crust and crimp together with the bottom crust. poke a few very small vent holes or slits into the to crust to vent out the steam. Place pie on a foil covered baking sheet and put into preheated oven for 10 minutes. Then turn down the oven temp. to 350° F and bake for another 40 – 45 minutes depending on your oven (mine is 41 minutes unless the cherries were still a little icy after thawing, then it’s closer to 45). After removing from oven, cool on a rack for a min. of 3 hours before cutting into it (overnight is better, but it’s tough to leave this pie alone on the counter that long….) Good Luck

Yes, my counter really is that color. No, I didn’t build this kitchen. Yes, a kitchen remodel is on my “honey-do” list. No, it won’t be happening this year… Thanks for asking… 🙂