Cherry pies are delicious. You can use sweet cherries, tart cherries, or a combination. Just make sure you get the canned cherries in the fruit isle and not the cherry pie filling on the baking isle. You are going to make your own filling with this recipe.
Ingredients
2 cans cherries
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon butter
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup shortening
6 tablespoons almond milk
Method
1. Preheat oven to 400?
2. Drain the cherries, reserving the juice from 1 can.
3. In a sauce pan, combine the sugar and the cornstarch. Add the cherry juice. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until thickened.
This is kitchen chemistry magic. The mixture will be thin and liquid for a several minutes. Keep stirring. All at once it will thicken and change to a slightly translucent color.
Remove from heat. Stir in the almond extract.
Gently fold in the cherries.
Now make the pie crust. Seriously. Make your own pie crusts. It isn’t that hard and it tastes lots better.
4. In a separate bowl combine the flour and salt. Using your fingers combine the flour with the shortening until you have small pea size bits.
Wash the flour off your hands.
Add the milk to the flour and shortening mixture and using your fingers combine to make a soft dough. DO NOT over mix or play with it too much or it will be tough.
5. Divide the pie dough in half and shape each half into a ball.
Press flat between 2 pieces of wax paper and the using a rolling pin roll out to the diameter of your pie plate.
Carefully peel one side of the wax paper off.
Place the rolled pie dough in the pie plate and carefully remove the second piece of wax paper (it will be on top).
6. Transfer the cherry mixture into the pie plate.
Dot with butter (5 slices about 1/2 teaspoon each).
7. Repeat the process with the second half go the pie dough.
Place on top of the pie.
Seal the edges of the pie dough together.
I make 3 circles around the pie – once to seal the edges together, once to shape the edge into a nice tall even edge, and once to scallop the edge.
Make slits in the top of the pis to allow steam to escape – you can even get creative and draw pictures or use cookie cutters to make the slits.
8. Bake for about an 30-40 minutes until the crust is golden brown.
Servings: 8