Best Always Delicious Cherry Pie Recipes

FOOLPROOF CHERRY PIE

Steps:

• Have ready and refrigerated one batch of foolproof all-butter pie crust.
• Remove the dough from the fridge 10 minutes before you begin rolling, as dough that is too cold will crack. Lightly flour a rolling pin and your work surface. Set the dough in the middle of the work surface and - beginning from the center of the disc - roll the dough away from you in one firm and even stoke. After each stroke, rotate the disc a quarter turn clockwise and roll again. Lightly sprinkle more flour on the work surface, on the dough, and on the rolling pin as needed. You want to use just enough to prevent the dough from sticking. As your disc of dough becomes larger, be sure not to overstretch the center of the dough. Continue rolling until the dough is 3 inches longer than the pan you are using, and around 1/8" to a 1/4" in thickness.
• Carefully fold the dough in half and lay it across one side of a buttered pie pan, placing the seam of the dough in the center of the pan. Gently unfold the crust, then use your hands to fit the dough down into the pan, making sure there are no gaps between the dough and the pan. Burst any air bubbles with a fork. Do not pull or stretch the dough here!
• Using kitchen scissors, trim the dough overhang to 1 and 1/2 inches, measuring from the inner rim of the pan.
• Cover the crust with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 48 hours. You may also freeze for up to 2 months
• Have ready and refrigerated one batch of foolproof all-butter pie crust.
• Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside until needed.
• On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the pie dough into a 12-inch circle.
• Using a pizza cutter or pastry roller, slice the dough into 10 strips (the width of the strips is totally up to you. I prefer medium strips so I usually slice them between an inch and an inch and a half wide). Lay the strips on the prepared baking sheet and refrigerate until needed.
• Combine the cherries, cornstarch, sugar, salt, vanilla, almond extract, and lemon juice in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Simmer, stirring almost constantly, until the mixture starts to thicken - about 8 minutes. Reduce heat to low and cook for another 2 minutes before removing from the heat. Transfer to a heatproof bowl and cool to room temperature.
• In a small bowl, beat together the egg and water until well combined. Set aside until needed.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees (F).
• Remove the crust and lattice strips from the refrigerator.
• Using a rubber spatula, scrape the cherry pie filling into the pie crust shell. Top with cubes of butter.
• Lay 6 of the strips parallel on top of the filling, leaving about 1/2-inch between each strip. Fold back every other strip, then place another strip of dough perpendicular to the strips. Unfold the folded strips so they lay over the perpendicular strip. Continue this layering process, weaving the strips over and under each other.
• Trim the edges of the strips, leaving about 1/2 inch overhang. Roll the excess dough up so it's tightly sitting on the edge of the pie plate, then crimp the edges to secure the strips with the bottom pie crust.
• Brush the edges of the crust with the egg wash and sprinkle with sugar, if using.
• Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees (F) and continue baking for 50 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling.
• Place pie plate on a wire rack and cool for at least 2 hours before slicing.

CHERRY PIE

Steps:

• Pit and halve the cherries. Add them to a saucepan with sugar and lemon juice and toss to combine. Cook over medium heat for a few minutes until juices are released. Use a slotted spoon to spoon cherries out into a bowl. Spoon some of the sauce into a cup and stir in the cornstarch until smooth. Return to pot with remaining juices and cook for a few minutes until thickened. Pour over cherries and set aside while you prepare the pie crust.
• Drain the juice from the cans of cherries into a saucepan, reserving 1/3 cup in a small bowl. Set the cherries aside. Add cornstarch to the bowl with the reserved 1/3 cup of juice and stir well to combine.
• Heat the saucepan (that has the juice in it) over medium heat. Add the sugar and stir well. Bring mixture to a low boil. Stir in dissolved cornstarch mixture. Cook, stirring, until thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in butter and lemon juice. Fold in the cherries. Add a few drops of red food coloring, if desired.
• Allow mixture to cool to room temperature while you prepare the pie crusts.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Set aside a 9'' pie pan. (If using canned cherries, there will be enough filling for a deep dish pie dish).
• Remove one chilled pie crust dough from the fridge. On a lightly floured counter, roll out your dough to about 12'' in diameter. Gently place in the bottom of pie dish. Spoon the cherry filling into the unbaked crust and sprinkle a little cinnamon over the filling. (If using fresh cherries, add a few small pieces of butter on top).
• Remove the second pie crust from the fridge and roll it out in a similar manner. Use a pizza cutter, knife or pastry wheel to cut the crust into long strips, about 1/2'' wide. Lay strips over the crust in a lattice pattern. (If you're lazy, like me, you can just lay half of the strips going one direction, and the others on top, going perpendicular, leaving a small space between each.)
• Pinch the edges of the top and bottom pie crusts together and crimp the edge, if you like. Brush a thin layer of beaten egg white over the top of the pie crust and sprinkle some granulated sugar on top.
• Bake at 400 degrees F for about 40-45 minutes. Check after about 25 minutes and gently place a piece of tinfoil over the top crust to keep it from getting too brown.
• Remove to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool for several hours. Once cooled completely you can cut and serve it, or cover it and refrigerate it overnight to serve the next day.
• Leftover cherry pie will last up to 5 days, stored in the fridge.

ALWAYS DELICIOUS CHERRY PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). On a lightly floured surface, roll out one crust, and place in a 9 inch deep dish pie plate. Roll out top crust, and set aside.
• Measure 1 1/2 cups reserved cherry syrup into a small saucepan over low heat. Mix together sugar, arrowroot powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir into syrup until dissolved. Increase heat to high, and bring syrup to a boil. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until thickened. Remove from heat, and stir in butter, lemon juice, vanilla, almond extract, and red food coloring.
• In a large bowl, combine cherries and thickened syrup. Gently toss until evenly coated. Pour filling into pie crust. Cover with top crust, and crimp edges with fork. Make a few fork vents in top pie crust to allow steam to escape during baking.
• Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Continue to bake for 30 minutes. Allow to cool for 3 hours before serving.