Cooking Lesson #56— Peek-A-Boo Fresh Cherry Pie

Peek-A-Boo Fresh Cherry Pie

How you doin? Its cherry season… get ‘em while they’re fresh! My Cherry Pie recipe would make George Washington a believer—no lie! It is a not-to-sweet rich, ruby-red cherry pie, with just a hint of almond flavor and a modest cinnamon halo all baked inside a flaky yet crisp crust. The cherries play peek-a-boo through the lattice crust.
 
Cherry pie is a pie baked with a cherry filling, of course. Cherry pies should be made with tart rather than sweet cherries. Morello cherries are ones I use (but you can use other varieties if available—you may have to adjust the sugar level so the filling isn’t too sweet).
 
English history credits making the first cherry pie to Queen Elizabeth I. Pies came to America with the English settlers. The early colonists cooked their pies in long narrow pans calling them "coffins" like the crust in England. As in the Roman times, the early American pie crusts were not eaten, but simply designed to hold the filling during baking—what a waste of a good crust.
 
Prep time:  30 minutes
Bake time:  55-60 minutes
Cool time:  45 minutes
Yield:  8 servings
 
Ingredients
For the pie filling
1-1/4 cups granulate sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 cup cherry juice blend (apple-cherry juice is just fine)
5 to 6 cups fresh tart cherries, pitted
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 double-crust pastry
 
For the pastry
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup shortening (see ChefSecret)
5 to 7 tablespoons cold water
 
Directions

1. Pit about 5 to 6 cups of fresh cherries. (They do sell cherry pitters in the hand tool cooking equipment section in your supermarket).
2. Preheat an oven to 425⁰ F.
3. In a large saucepan, combine the sugar and cornstarch; gradually stir in cherry juice until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat.
4. Add the cherries, cinnamon, nutmeg and almond extract; set aside to cool.
5. If making a homemade crust… In a large bowl, whisk the flour and salt together and cut in the shortening until crumbly.
6. Gradually add the cold water, tossing with a fork until a ball forms. Divide dough in half so that one ball is slightly larger than the other—one for the top crust and one for the bottom crust.
7. Refrigerate the dough balls for 30 minutes.
8. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the larger ball to fit a 9” pie pan.
9. Transfer the dough to a 9” pie pan, trim even with edge of pan.
10. Add the cherry pie filling and spread evenly to fill the pan.
11. Roll out the remaining dough ball; cut dough into 3/4” strips and lay/weave them alternately to make a lattice pattern on the top of the pie. Trim, seal and flute edges.
12. Bake at 425° for 10 minutes.
13. Reduce heat to 375°; bake 45-50 minutes longer or until crust is golden brown.
14. Cool on a wire rack.
15. Serve with an ice cream of your choice.

ChefSecret:  Personally, I use a combination of shortenings (fats) for my pie crusts—1/3 cup cold butter and 1/3 cup lard. This makes a buttery, crisp crust. You can also use a hard vegetable shortening like Crisco. Do you want to cut down on the time and complexity of making a crust? Just buy a ready-made crust found in the refrigerated section at your supermarket.

#Dessert #CherryPie #GeorgeWashington #Baking #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19

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