Cherry Pie!

I love pie. Any kind of pie will make my day, but fruit pies are probably my favorite. There's just something about the combination of fresh fruit with pie crust and a little cinnamon sugar....

And when you have access to these beautiful fresh cherries at your local farmers' market, why not turn them into pie? 

First, prepare your fruit. I should tell you now how much fruit to use, but this is one thing I never measure. You want the fruit to fill your pie dish - if you use a shallow dish you will use less fruit than if you have a deep dish. Also, some fruit shrinks more than other fruit while it cooks. I generally eyeball it, but I would guess my pie dish holds between 4 and 6 cups of fruit. If you are not sure, just put your fruit into your pie dish as you cut it so you can see how much you want to use. I halved my cherries, partly because I like halves in my pie and partly because I do not own a cherry pitting tool...

Once cut, the cherries can be set aside while you move on to the crust. If you are using a fruit like apples that will oxidize and are worried about them turning brown, you can add a splash of lemon juice and stir them around - but really, you're going to bake it so does it matter if they change color first?

Next, the most important thing about a pie, to me, is the crust. I am a pie crust snob. Yes, I admit it. And it is entirely because I was spoiled growing up with a mother and grandmother that made the best pie crust - I think the first time I ever had store-bought pie crust was when I was in college... So I will share with you my favorite pie crust recipe, which is slightly adapted from Gram's recipe. Feel free to use whatever your favorite crust is though - whether you have a tried and true recipe that you love, or you just want that premade crust from the grocery store.

Start by stirring together 2 cups all purpose flour, 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in your favorite mixing bowl. Add 8 tablespoons coconut oil **(I use coconut oil because it is solid at room temperature but melts easily, hubby is not allergic to it, and it also gives the crust a pleasant flavor, but if you love using butter or another shortening by all means do that instead).

And cut it into the flour mixture until you have fine crumbs. If you do not own one of these handy pastry blenders, just use a couple of butter knives or a stiff spatula, or even just roll it through your fingers. I like the pastry blender because it is fast and easy.

Drizzle in a bit of cold water **this is important, if your water is not cold, it will melt your shortening and your crust will not turn out right**. Again, something I don't measure because it depends on the humidity the day you are baking, etc. Just start with a small amount and stir it in.

 This dough is still pretty shaggy, so it needs a touch more water.

And now it has come together nicely - this is what you are looking for. If you accidentally get too much water and your dough is wet, just sprinkle a bit more flour on and incorporate it.
Prepare your rolling surface by sprinkling it with flour. I use a silicon mat - again because it makes life easier - but a clean countertop or large cutting board will also work just fine. Then turn your dough ball onto the surface and sprinkle a little flour on top.

Knead just enough to make sure the dough will be easy to handle (read: not sticky), then split the dough in half.

Set half aside for the top crust (or if you are making a single-crust pie, use it to make pinwheel cookies, which will be a post for another day) and form the half you are using into a large hockey puck. Roll the edge of this 'wheel' gently to keep the edge from going all ragged as you roll the crust out.

Roll the crust out to a uniform thickness large enough to fill your pie dish and overlap the edge. Transfer to the pie dish and roll the other half out in preparation for the top of the pie. Notice in the photo the little pockets of coconut oil - these will melt as the crust bakes and leave it light and flaky.

Now we're ready for the filling. I really like to taste the fruit with it's natural sweet-tartness so I tend to use a bit less sugar than most people probably do in their pies...I added 3 tablespoons flour and 2 tablespoons powdered sugar to my cherries.

 Gently stir together and transfer to pie dish with the bottom crust waiting for you.

And top with your second crust. Now for the best part: you probably noticed that there was no cinnamon in the filling - again, this is because I really wanted to taste the cherries, but feel free to add some if you really want. What I do really love is cinnamon in the crust - so before you seal the two crusts together, fold back the top edges and sprinkle cinnamon sugar where the two meet.

 Then fold and crimp your edges to seal in all the goodness.

I was in a cinnamon-y mood, so I sprinkled more cinnamon sugar over the top of the crust. You also want to cut a few slits in the crust to vent steam, this will prevent the crust from being puffed up away from the fruit when your pie is finished.

Then you're going to put the pie in a 425* oven for 25-35 minutes (actually, depending on your oven it could end up being longer, but my oven is quite efficient). You will know it is done when the filling is bubbling up out of your venting slits and the crust is a pretty golden brown.

Let the pie cool to room temperature before you slice it. This will allow the filling to set so it doesn't run all over the dish. If you absolutely cannot wait and must eat warm pie...just do it. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the more sauce-like consistency of the filling before it sets, nor is there anything wrong with indulging your need for warm pie - and don't let anyone tell you otherwise!

I did manage to allow this pie to cool before slicing, but mostly because I was so busy that it had to wait until later.

And by the time I was finished taking this photo, hubby had already finished the slice I gave him first. He watched me eat mine with puppy-dog eyes, and although I wouldn't share, I was forgiven when I gave him a second slice all to himself.

Enjoy!                                            

Sue