Moms Cherry Pie Recipes

THE BEST TART CHERRY PIE YOU'LL EVER EAT

Steps:

• Make the pie dough and shape the crust in a pie pan ahead of time, then store covered in the fridge. You can follow my recipe for an all butter flaky pie crust, use your favorite recipe, or a store-bought crust.
• To make the tart cherry pie filling: add frozen tart cherries, sugar, cornstarch, flour and almond extract to a large pot and place over medium heat. After 5 minutes or so, the cherries will thaw, begin to break down and the sugar will melt. Stir frequently during this time. Add in butter and amaretto and continue to stir. After another 5-10 or so minutes, the mixture will begin to thicken and start to bubble along the edges. Once the filling begins to stick slightly to the back of your spoon, remove it from the heat and set aside to cool off.
• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
• While your oven preheats, make the dutch crumble topping: in a medium bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar and oats. Add in the melted butter and stir together with a fork until it begins to form into crumbles and resembles clumpy wet sand. You may need to use your hands/fingers to form into nice crumbles. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 5 minutes or until ready to use.
• Remove pie pan with pie crust from the refrigerator and place pie pan onto a large baking sheet. I do this to avoid any spillage that may happen as the pie filling bubbles and bakes. Pour cooled tart cherry pie filling into the crust, then top filling with the dutch crumble topping.
• Bake for 1 hour-1 hour 15 minutes or until the filling is very bubbly and the crumble is slightly golden brown. Check pie after 30 minutes to make sure the crust isn't burning. If it is getting too golden brown, simply cover pie edges with foil or pie shield.
• Allow pie to cool on a wire rack until completely cooled before cutting into it (this is annoying, but if you cut into it before then the pie filling won't be set). The longer the pie rests, the easier it is to serve! Can be made a few days ahead of time. Pie is best served at room temp or just slightly warm. Serves 9. Great with vanilla bean ice cream. Enjoy!

MOM'S FANTASTIC CHERRY PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425.
• Mix cherries, sugar, and almond extract in saucepan, and bring to a simmer. Pour or scoop out 1/2 cup cherry juice, and add cornsarch. Mix well until a paste forms. You may wish to add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water to turn it into a liquid rather than a paste. Slowly add to the simmering cherries, mixing well while adding. Allow to simmer until thickened. Set aside.
• For pie crust, mix flour and salt; cut in shortening, using pastry blender or two knives. You want to stop when you have large pea size clumps of shortening - any smaller, and you'll lose out on some flakiness! Add in ice water (I actually add ice to my water to ensure it's super cold), and mix, drawing a fork up from the bottom of the bowl, adding water until the dough is moist enough that it sticks together when pressed. TIP: Don't touch the pastry dough any more than absolutely necessary! Separate into two balls, one slightly larger than the other. Roll out larger ball on a floured board, and place into pie pan; it should overlap. Roughly cut edge even with edges. Roll out smaller ball of dough, and set aside.
• Pour filling into pie crust; top with remaining pastry dough, allowing it to overhang edges. Again, roughly cut crust, slightly larger than edge of pie pan. Tuck top crust under bottom crust (to prevent leaks), and crimp. Cut vents into top crust, and if you have any scraps left over, shape into a few flat cherries with stems, and place on top of pie.
• Lightly brush top of pie with milk, and sprinkle with sugar.
• Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 and bake for 30 minutes more.
• Enjoy!

CHERRY PIE FILLING

Steps:

• Place cherries into a saucepan over medium heat, and cover the pan; heat cherries until they release their juice and come to a simmer, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir often.
• In a bowl, whisk the sugar with cornstarch until smooth; pour the mixture into the hot cherries and juice, and thoroughly combine. Return to low heat, bring to a simmer, and cook until the filling has thickened, about 2 minutes; remove from heat, let cool, and use as pie filling.