Cherry Bomb pie

Directions

1. Wash the fruit. Remove cherry pits. I like a cheap cherry pitter!
2. Puree the cherries. Adding the fruit juice here can help the puree process.
3. First we will make a cherry filling. Place cherry puree, sugar, jam, juice, and cornstarch (but *not* eggs or milk) in a sauce pan. Heat gently until it just begins to boil. It will be thickened! Remove from heat and allow to cool. But you can still proceed with warm filling.
4. Preheat oven to 375F convection. Place a cookie sheet in the oven, where we will rest the baking dish. A hot cookie sheet helps the crust to get going and avoid soggy crust! And it catches any bits of crust that drop.
5. Place the pie crust in a 9-inch pie dish, and egg wash the crust. We really need to blind bake this crust.
6. Line the pastry shell parchment paper, and fill with pie weights/uncooked rice. Bake for just 10 minutes. This bake is to get the crust started, to avoid soggy crust! Carefully remove the weights and foil, as the crust will be delicate. Cool about 20 minutes.
7. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl: thickened cherry mixture, milk, and eggs. Stir or use a mixer until well combined. Pour into the pie crust.
8. Place a protective ring, such as cut from aluminum foil, around the rim of the baking dish, to protect the crust from direct heat. This way it won't over-brown.
9. Bake for 60-65 minutes. Test at 50 minutes, a probe should come out reasonably clean.