Cherry pie is a perfect pie for Valentine’s Day. Beautiful red cherries are reminiscent of a heart full of love — big and soft, with that luscious filling!
This pie calls for tart cherries, which come into season in the midwest in July and August. Out of season, frozen tart cherries are a good substitute. (I used a mixture of frozen sweet and tart cherries for this pie.) If you use all sweet cherries, you may want to adjust the sugar down by about four ounces.
Notes:
- When using fresh cherries, be sure to pit each one; even go back and double check so you don’t miss any. The pits are most certainly a choking hazard and have been known to break teeth. Frankly, with the volume that I went through for markets, I had to opt for frozen cherries and the pies turned out beautifully.
- I have found that tapioca is the best thickener for Cherry Pies. Use the same quick-cooking tapioca that you can find in the baking section, usually alongside the puddings and Jello. However, those granules are too large for use in a filling because they interfere with the smoothness that I expect from a thickener. I process them in a clean coffee or spice grinder to get the finer texture that I want.
- It is important to let the finished pie settle until it is fully cooled. I know, that’s hard because it smells so good! But the pie needs time for the tapioca to settle in and fully absorb enough juices to result in an eminently sliceable filling. I recommend several hours or even overnight.
- Give attention to building up the borders of this pie crust; think of the edges as a tasty dam. Fruit pies are especially fond of expanding as the filling cooks and I never want to let that good sauciness overflow the dish. Watch for the first 15 minutes and shore up any spots that might allow a “breach” with some leftover crust scraps.
This Tart-Cherry Pie can be baked with our Flakiest Pie Crust as a pastry top-crust or with my Sweet Crunchy Topping.
Cherry Pie
Big soft cherries with a luscious filling to pamper the palate.
Ingredients
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 425 ° F
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In a small bowl stir together dry ingredients.
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Pour cherries into a medium saucepan . Stir in the almond and vanilla extracts. Allow to macerate for 10 minutes, stirring often to evenly distribute the sugar mixture.
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Cut butter into small pieces and scatter across the bottom crust.
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Pour filling into pie crust and top with your choice of pastry crust or Harriett's Sweet Crunchy Topping.
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Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, checking periodically to make sure the crust stays in place and doesn't buckle. Edges of crust should just begin to brown.
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Reduce oven temp to 350 ° F and bake for 35 - 45 minutes longer, or until crust is golden and filling is bubbling and about 200° in the middle. You may need to shield the crust edges with foil to keep them from over browning.
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Remove from oven and let cool for at least 45 minutes.
