I have a very private friend I’ll call Ms L. She has quite a fondness for cherry pies. So I’ve worked up this cherry pie recipe which is really good.
It takes a double crust so I usually just buy one of the premade ones at the grocery store. You can use my crust recipe but use brandy or vodka with cherry pie. https://flatlandfood.blogspot.com/2014/08/peach-pie.html
I’ll assume you have the raw bottom crust in a 9” Pyrex pie pan or a 10” cast iron skillet.
Preheat oven To 400° F
Mix the following in a mixing bowl:
- 16 oz dark sweet frozen cherries (from the frozen fruit section in the grocery store)
- 1 21 oz can cherry pie filling (I use the premium one with sugar, no corn syrup and more cherries)
- 1/4 lb dried sour or tart cherries
- Optional. 1/4 lb fresh cherries. Washed, pitted and stems removed.
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice. (The juice of a large or 2 small lemons)
Stir well and spoon into the pie crust. The canned pie filling will provide all the sugar that you need for this recipe. I assume that some people may want to add more sugar. I like it with less sugar and more tart cherry flavor.
If you overfill, some will run over during cooking. If you use too little, you will waste the extra cherry mixture that you have to throw away. Choose wisely.
Hide the following in the cherries. They will need to be stuck into the filling as it sits in the lower crust.
- 2 cinnamon stick broken in half (4 pieces)
- 2 Tbsp cold butter cut in 4 pieces
Now add the top crust. I like a lattice.
Sprinkle top crust with
- Granulated sugar
Cook at 400 F for 10-12 min. Don’t let it over brown.
Reduce heat to 350 and cook 20 more minutes. We just need to cook the crust and get the filling hot.
Serve.
Note: do not let your guests eat the cinnamon sticks. You can remove them before serving. I usually just warn the guests that the cinnamon sticks aren’t very tasty and to be careful not to eat them
