Author Notes
Growing up on a farm, one of the wonderful things about early fall was the fruit trees laden with all their wonderful goodness. We had apples, pears and cherries, as well as the earlier summer-bearing peaches and all the different berries. I loved the apples and pears, but the cherries...there was just something special about the cherries. They were the tart "pie cherries," and we had cherry pie frequently while they were in season, as well as canning them in quarts for cherry pie throughout the year. This was Mama's cherry pie recipe that I've tweaked just a little over the years, when I can find fresh, tart cherries. —Kayb
Ingredients
- Crust
-
3 cups
all-purpose flour
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2 cups
vegetable shortening
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1 teaspoon
salt
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Ice water
- Cherry filling
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3 cups
tart, pitted fresh cherries
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1 1/2 cups
sugar
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2 tablespoons
Amaretto
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1 teaspoon
vanilla extract
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2 tablespoons
tapioca OR
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1 tablespoon
cornstarch
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3 tablespoons
water
-
3 tablespoons
granulated sugar, for sprinkling
Directions
- Crust
-
In the food processor, blend shortening with flour and salt until a crumbly mixture. Add water, a tablespoon or so at a time, until mixture makes a shaggy ball. Separate into two balls, wrap tightly in plastic, and refrigerate.
- Cherry filling
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Heat, cherries, amaretto, vanilla and sugar over medium heat to a simmer. Cook about 5 minutes, until cherries have softened but retain their shape. Combine tapioca or cornstarch with water and add to cherries; cook another 2-3 minutes and remove from heat. Cool to room temperature.
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Preheat oven to 350. Roll one ball of pie crust thin for a bottom crust, and line a deep-dish pie plate or pan. Add cooled filling.
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Roll the other crust ball thin, and slice into strips about 3/4 inch wide. Weave into a lattice atop pie, trimming excess strips from edges. Dampen strips with water where they lie on top of bottom crust.
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Take trimmings and roll with your fingers into a "rope" long enough to encircle pie plate rim. Flatten slightly. Dampen top rim of bottom crust and lattice pieces, and place rope around top rim of plate. Flute with fingers.
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Sprinkle lattice strips with granulated sugar. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Cool to room temperature before serving.
I'm a business professional who learned to cook early on, and have expanded my tastes and my skills as I've traveled and been exposed to new cuisines and new dishes. I love fresh vegetables, any kind of protein on the grill, and breakfasts that involve fried eggs with runny yolks. My recipes tend toward the simple and the Southern, with bits of Asia or the Mediterranean or Mexico thrown in here and there. And a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on a float in the lake, as pictured, is a pretty fine lunch!
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