CLASSIC CHERRY PIE

Do you like your cherry pie recipe? If your attempts at making a good cherry pie were like my first attempts...they tasted good but there was always a lot of liquid in the bottom of the pie...not exactly what I wanted. Then I tried a cherry pie recipe that used flour as a thickener which ended the excess liquid in the pie but left me with a cloudy filling...definitely not what I wanted. Next I tried tapioca, but for some reason it was hard to zero in on how much tapioca to use since the moisture content of the cherries is variable AND since you add the tapioca to the pie in its uncooked state...well, lets just say tapioca results were not consistent enough for me.

Finally, I found the following recipe and it is everything I ever wanted in a cherry pie and has earned some rave reviews with my family. If you are looking for an excellent cherry pie recipe, I hope you will try it. It never fails.

CRUST
2 cups chilled all purpose flour
1 cup frozen butter flavored shortening
½ cup ice water
¼ teaspoon salt

Grate the frozen shortening into the chilled flour, stopping occasionally to toss a little of the cold flour onto the grated shortening (so that the shortening doesn't stick together). Mix in the cold water until dough comes to a smooth ball. Cover with plastic and chill while you make the filling.

FILLING
2 pounds of pitted sour cherries (see note)
1¼ cups white sugar
10½ teaspoons cornstarch (yes, 10½ tsp.)
1 tablespoon butter
¼ teaspoon almond extract

Place pitted cherries, sugar and cornstarch in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Allow mixture to stand for 10 minutes for until the cherries have moistened the sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat (stirring). When it comes to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for one minute or until juice is thick and clear. Remove from heat and stir in butter and almond extract. Set aside.

Roll out pie crust and fit into the bottom of a 9 inch pie plate. Fill with pie filling and put on top crust. Cut vent holes in the top crust and bake at 375F for 45 to 55 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

NOTE: Handle the crust quickly because the heat of your hands will warm up the dough (not good).

NOTE: When it is not cherry season, I use 3 (15 ounce) cans of tart pie cherries and let them drain thoroughly before I add the sugar and cornstarch. If you are using canned cherries, you can skip the 10 minute wait time in the recipe.

NOTE: If you use canned cherries, the baking time will be more like 35 to 45 minutes.

NOTE: Let cherry pie cool completely before cutting!!