Cherry Baby ~ Pie

 I must have cherry pie when cherries

 are in season. It's my favorite fruit pie.

You'll need about 3 cups of fresh dark cherries.

It's easier to weigh them to 

get 1-1/2 pounds

The first thing that stops most people

 from attempting cherry pie is pitting 

the cherries. 

If you don't have cherry pitter, 

I have a handy-dandy alternative.

I use a hard plastic straw, 

the kind that comes with insulated 

beverage containers works the best. 

Line up the straw on the end of the cherry and 

push straight down through to the other side

Viola! You've just removed the pit. 

You'll start to get the hang of it after a you've

 done few cherries.  Just give the straw a little 

twist when you feel the pit inside.

Use a cutting mat to collect any juices and 

also protect your surface from stains.

Toss the cherries with the filling ingredients. 

I sometimes use 1/3 C brown sugar and 1/3 C white. 

If you don't have almond extract, use vanilla 

or leave it out. If your cherries are very tart,

you can add more sugar and leave out the lemon juice. 

The basic filling is just fresh cherries, some sugar

 to sweeten, flour, and butter to thicken,

pretty much the same for any fruit pie. 

The other ingredients are personal preference.

 Roll out your crust. I think homemade crust

 is the best, HERE.

But you can use also store-bought. 

 Line the pie pan with the bottom crust,

 fill with the cherry mixture and dot with

 butter pieces. Top with crust. Trim edge

 leaving about 1" overhand. Fold overhang over 

edge and under bottom crust edge. 

Pinch together and flute.

Cut small vent slits on top.

 Bake @ 400º for 50-55 minutes, until

 crust is golden and filling is bubbly.

 Cool on rack until just warm. 

Bada Bing Cherry Pie!

Serve warm or at room temperature. 

Top with vanilla ice cream, if desired. 

Cherry Baby ~ Pie

3 C fresh cherries (about 1-1/2 lbs.) pitted
2/3 C sugar (can use half brown/half white)
1/4 C flour
1 T lemon juice
1/4 t almond extract
1/8 t (pinch) cinnamon
1/8 t (pinch) salt
2 T butter, cut into small pieces
double-crust pie pastry
Toss pitted cherries in a bowl with sugar, flour, lemon juice, extract, a pinch of cinnamon and salt. Line the bottom of a 9" pie dish with pastry. Fill with cherry filling, dot top with the small butter pieces, and top with remaining pastry. Trim edge leaving a 1" overhand. Fold overhang over edge and under bottom crust edge. Cut vent slits on top. Pinch together and flute. Bake @ 400º for 50-55 minutes, until crust is golden and filling is bubbly. Cool on rack until just warm. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Top with vanilla ice cream if desired.

Enjoy!

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