I am obsessed with baking pies. Seriously, I baked this same cherry pie two days in a row (it helped that cherries were on sale). The great thing about pie is that it’s amazing as a dessert topped with ice cream. But it’s also great for breakfast. So if you’re having company over, you’ll really have to make two pies to ensure leftovers for breakfast the next day. It also helped that I recently bought a cherry pitter for my dad. And then probably used it more than he did.
One thing I love about this pie is that the cherries are whole. You get big giant bites of sweet cherries instead of sticky goo that you sometimes get when you use canned cherry pie filling. If you don’t love that, just process the cherries for 1-2 seconds to get big chunks of them.
Get your food processor and make some crust. Or use a pastry blender like I did here. Some people are super scared of making pie crust. I am still not perfect at it, and here didn’t even bother crimping the edges or anything. You know what? none of the people who ate it cared, and actually all mentioned how beautiful the pie was. Anyway, when making pie crust, just make sure to have all your ingredients on hand. Work quickly but carefully (you don’t want to melt that butter) and remember that once it’s baked and delicious, it’s okay if it’s a little cracked. The more you practice, the easier it will get.
Cherry Pie, adapted from the Bon Appetit Desserts Cookbook
For the Crust:
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces and chilled
- 5 tablespoons (or more)ice water
For the Filling:
- 1 cup
- 3 tablespoons corn starch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 5 cups whole pitted cherries (about 2 pounds when they still have pits)
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
Extras:
- Milk
- 1 tablespoon sugar
Directions:
1. Make the crust: Whisk flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl to blend.
2. Add butter and rub in with finger tips (or use your pastry blender) until small pea-sized clumps form.
3. Add 5 tablespoons ice water and mix lightly until dough holds together when pieces are pressed between fingertips. Add more ice water by the tablespoonful if dough is too dry.
4. Gather dough into a ball and divide in half. Flatten each half into a disc, wrap in plastic, and chill for at least 30 minutes.
5. Make filling: Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat oven to 425 degrees.
6. Whisk 1 cup sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium bowl.
7. Add cherries, lemon juice, and vanilla. Set aside.
8. Roll out 1 disc of dough into a 12 inch round. Transfer to a 9 inch pie plate and trim dough to overhang 1/2 inch.
9. Roll out the second disc into another 12 inch round. Using a pastry wheel with a fluted edge and a straight edge, cut 3/4 inch strips (10-12 of them)
10. Transfer filling to the dough-lined dish and top with butter pieces.
11. Arrange dough strips on top to form a lattice.
12. Fold bottom crust over the top and crimp edges to seal.
13. Brush pie with milk and sprinkle with the remaining sugar
14. Place pie on rimmed baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.
15. Reduce oven temperature to 375 and bake another hour, until crust is golden brown.
16. Remove from oven to a rack and cool completely before serving.
