Cherry Pie

7.25.2012

Cherry Pie

The first thing I made in our new apartment? Cherry pie.

What I really hate about cherries though, is the pitting process (because I’m pretty anti-frozen fruit when it comes to pies) and how it dyes your fingers - mine were faintly colored red for a few days. With the drips of red down my arm, it looked like I was in a popsicle factory explosion. In the end, these little problems make you pretty appreciative of all the hard work you put into making it.

I wanted to use a shortening based crust but all we had around the house was vegetable oil (oh, the perils of being in a newly moved in kitchen). The crust recipe that accompanies this cherry pie is actually a vegetable oil based crust — which was really hard to work with because of the fact that it dries fairly quickly. I recommend using your favorite crust (just because it’s more familiar) or a cheddar crust (similar to what I used to make my cheddar crusted cherry pie) just because of the flavor.

For one 8” pie (or a few mini pies):

Filling:

4 c. fresh cherries, pitted
1/4 c. flour
1 c. granulated sugar
1 tsp. pure almond extract

Pie crust (from Louise Piper, via Saveur):

2 2/3 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
2/3 c. vegetable oil
6 tbsp. cold whole milk

To make the filling, mix the sugar and flour together first in a mixing bowl; mix in the fresh (pitted!) cherries and then add the almond extract.

Preheat oven to 400F. For the crust, sift together the flour and salt into a mixing bowl. In another bowl, pour in the oil, and then the milk but do not mix the two together. Pour oil and milk into flour mixture. Stir until dough just holds together. Divide dough in half, shape into two balls, and flatten slightly. Roll out each ball between two sheets of parchment into 12” rounds. Transfer one pastry round into a pie pan, trim the sides, and set other pastry round aside. (Note: because I made mini pies that were latticed on top, I ended up with a lot of extra dough). Pour the filling into the pie pan. Carefully transfer the other pastry round on top. If you like cut-outs on your pies, use small cookie cutters and cut out the shapes before transferring it on top of the pie. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Let it cool before serving.