Cherry Pie

I've been making a lot of pies this summer with all the wonderful fresh fruit summertime offers... Cherry Pie has just been one of my favorites... the recipe for my Cherry Pie is included at the bottom of this blog.

I purchase fresh fruit all season long during the spring and summer... one of my favorites is fresh cherries.  I had bought a bag of cherries for nibbling on for guests who were visiting... but... because of all the other goodies I had on hand... the cherries never were consumed... so... I decided that instead of letting them go to waste, I should make them into a cherry pie.... GOOD DECISION!!!!

I have never made a 'from scratch' cherry pie before, so I had no clue on how long it would take to pit a bag of cherries... it took me 45 minutes to pit them all with just a paring knife, and I had purple hands when I was done.  I knew there HAD to be a better way to pit cherries... so... I went on a search for a cherry pitter.  I began my search at a local kitchen gadget/supply store, and as I was standing staring at the wall of tools/gadgets the owner approached me and offered her assistance.  I told her what I was looking for... she said she didn't have any in stock and... believe it or not... she actually suggested I buy frozen cherries instead, since they did not contain sugar.  WELL!!!.... I hate to inform her... BUT... my fresh cherries did not contain sugar either... AND... they are wayyy better than frozen any day!  However... she did tell me of another place where I might purchase a cherry pitter if I truly was determined to bake a cherry pie with fresh cherries.  I was quite successful at this next store, having 3 different types of cherry pitters to chose from.  The pitter I purchased was a bit pricer than I thought it would be... but... after using this new tool, I am beyond impressed at how wonderfully it worked... it only took me 7 minutes to pit this second bag of cherries.  I LOVE my new cherry pitter and think the cost was definitely worth it!  I bought a stainless steel pitter... it was $20.

I began my cherry pie with Julia Child's pastry crust... which just happens to be the BEST pastry crust EVER!!!!  You can use this pastry crust for savory or sweet recipes... plus it is just the easiest crust to make, and work with as well.  This pastry crust recipe will also be included at the bottom of this blog.

I had so much success with my first cherry pie... that the family I baked it for requested if they could come "play" with me in my kitchen so they could learn to bake a fresh pie too.  The week following their dinner visit when my first cherry pie was served... I had 'Pie Baking Lessons 101' in my kitchen with these two young lads... YES!!! I typed that correctly... lads not lasses!... and we had a blast.  I decided for them that they should make individual pies instead of one big pie so that they both had a chance to make the fruit filling, as well as making the crusts.  This turned out to be a stellar idea and they both enjoyed the entire process of making a 'from scratch' fruit pie.  We made blueberry pies along with the cherry pies... I simply substituted blueberries for cherries in my cherry pie recipe... feel free to exchange the cherries for any fruit of your choice... your pie will still be very delicious!  I just bought another bag of cherries today to make yet another pie tomorrow.
*Side note... the recipe below made 1 big pie or 4 individual pies... thus they made 4 cherry pies, and 4 blueberry pies.

And by the way... I must note that my husband did not get to enjoy my first pie, nor did he get to enjoy the pies I made in 'Pie Making 101'... so I decided to surprise him by making him a pie just for him... however... I did not have any fresh fruit on hand... so... I decided to use some frozen blueberries I had in the freezer.  He thought my blueberry pie was a State Fair Ribbon winner... but... because I HAD tasted both the fresh fruit pies, as well as this frozen fruit pie, I can tell you that the fresh fruit pies were hands down WAYYY better than the frozen fruit one!  Any time you can use fresh fruit, I suggest you do... frozen fruit will suffice in a pinch... but... the difference between the two was a huge difference!  Although... a home made pie from fresh or frozen fruit is a winner any day!

Here are the recipes for both the pastry dough and the cherry pie.

Pastry Crust  (Julia Child - The Art of Mastering French Cooking)

2 - cups all purpose flour
1 - tsp salt
1/4 - tsp sugar
6 - ounces (1 1/2 sticks) butter, cubed into 1/2" bits, chilled
4 - Tbsp shortening (crisco), chilled
1/2 - cup iced water... plus a couple tsp more if necessary

Place flour, salt, sugar, butter, and shortening in a food processor... pulse 10 - 12 times... pause for 10 seconds, and pulse another 10 - 12 pulses.  Add iced water all at once and turn processor to on position and mix until dough just starts to gather into a ball or on the blade... this should occur within 20 seconds, if not... add a tsp or two more of water.  Remove dough from processor, pat into a disc, place disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.  Roll dough out to 1/8" and place in 9" pie pan.  This recipe makes 1 pie crust... you will need to make this recipe twice for the cherry pie recipe.


Cherry Pie


4 - cups cherries, pitted (preferably fresh... but frozen may be used)... other fruit may be substitued
1 - cup sugar (for a sweeter pie, add an additional 1/2 cup sugar)
4 - Tbsp cornstarch
1/8 - tsp pure vanilla extract (DO NOT use imitation!.... almond extract may be substituted)
2 - pie crusts
1 - Tbsp sugar - to sprinkle over top crust

Place cherries in sauce pan over moderate heat, and cook until cherries lose considerable juice... about 10 minutes.  Remove cherries from heat.  In a small bowl combine sugar and cornstarch together.  Pour sugar/cornstarch mixture into cooked cherries, and mix well.  Add vanilla extract (or almond extract if preferred).  Return sauce pan to low heat, stirring frequently, cook mixture until thickened... as in jam or preserves thick... 7-10 minutes.  Remove cherry mixture from heat and let cool.  Pour cherry mixture into a pie crust... top pie with 2nd pie crust, seal edges, and cut slit vents in top crust to let steam escape while baking... (I cut my 2nd pie crust into strips and did a lattice top instead of covering the entire pie with a 2nd crust).  Bake in 375 degree oven for 45-50 minutes... crust should be slightly golden brown.  Remove pie from oven, and let cool completely before serving... at least an hour.