Perfect Cherry Pie Recipes

CHERRY PIE

Steps:

• Place cherries in medium saucepan and place over heat. Cover. After the cherries lose considerable juice, which may take a few minutes, remove from heat. In a small bowl, mix the sugar and cornstarch together. Pour this mixture into the hot cherries and mix well. Add the almond extract, if desired, and mix. Return the mixture to the stove and cook over low heat until thickened, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and let cool. If the filling is too thick, add a little water, too thin, add a little more cornstarch.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Use your favorite pie dough recipe. Prepare your crust. Divide in half. Roll out each piece large enough to fit into an 8 to 9-inch pan. Pour cooled cherry mixture into the crust. Dot with butter. Moisten edge of bottom crust. Place top crust on and flute the edge of the pie. Make a slit in the middle of the crust for steam to escape. Sprinkle with sugar.
• Bake for about 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool.

PERFECT CHERRY PIE

Steps:

• Mix flour, 2 Tbs. sugar and salt in a food processor. Add 8 Tbs. frozen butter and pulse 4 times, 1 long second each time. Drop shortening and cream cheese into flour mixture; pulse another 4 or 5 times, 1 long second each, until fats are the size of peas and fine gravel.
• Dump mixture into a medium bowl; rub through clean fingertips to blend. Stir in water with a rubber spatula until dough clumps form. Press dough with your palm to form a ball, then divide in half. Wrap each half in plastic wrap, pressing to form thick disks. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.
• Adjust oven rack to lowest position and place a pizza stone or four 9-inch quarry tiles (from a hardware store) on rack to form an 18-inch square. Preheat to 400 degrees.
• In a large saucepan, cook 1 cup cherry juice, 1 cup sugar, potato starch and a pinch of salt over medium-low heat; stir with a rubber spatula until a very thick paste forms. Scrape paste into cherries in a bowl. Add almond extract; stir to combine.
• Set a dough disk on a floured work surface. Roll into a 14-inch circle. Fold in half and quickly lift into a 9-inch Pyrex pie plate (not deep-dish). Unfold. Fit dough into pie plate so it is not stretched in any way. Refrigerate.
• Roll remaining dough disk into a 12-inch circle. Remove pie shell from refrigerator, add fruit filling, and dot with 1 Tb. butter. Fold dough circle in half; quickly lift onto filling and unfold. Trim all around to 1/2-inch beyond lip of pie plate. Roll overhanging dough under with fingertips; flute.
• Set an 18-inch square of heavy-duty foil on tiles or pizza stone. Set pie on foil and bake until crust just starts to color, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven, brush with egg white, and sprinkle with 1 1/2 Tbs. sugar. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes longer. Bring foil up around pie to loosely cover edges. Bake until filling bubbles, 15 to 20 minutes longer. Cool on a wire rack.

THE BEST CHERRY PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place bottom pie crust into a 9-inch pie pan; made pricks along the bottom with a fork.
• Bake in the preheated oven until pie crust is lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Remove crust from oven and cool for 5 minutes.
• Combine cherries, sugar, cornstarch, and almond extract together in a bowl. Pour cherry mixture into the prepared pie pan; dot with butter. Cover with top crusts, crimp the edges to seal, and cut vents into the top with a sharp knife. Place the pie on a foil-covered baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. If it is browning too fast cover the pie with an aluminum foil tent. Continue baking until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly, 10 to 20 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool, about 15 minutes.

PERFECT SOUR CHERRY PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Press the bottom pie crusts into 2 pie pans.
• Combine cherries, 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, and cornstarch in a saucepan. Let sit until sugar begins to draw out the cherries' juices, about 10 minutes. Bring to boil, stirring constantly. Lower the heat; simmer until the juices thicken and become translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in butter and almond extract until well mixed. Pour into the bottom half of the pie shells. Cover with top crusts, crimp the edges to seal, and cut vents into the top with a sharp knife.
• Bake in the preheated oven until crust is golden brown, 45 to 55 minutes.