Homemade Cherry Pie

Ooh, what can be better than homemade cherry pie? Cherry pie is one of the desserts that are the hallmark of a delicious summer afternoon. It’s bright and tasty. It’s sweet and tangy. Cherry pie is one of those desserts you don’t forget about. You can bring this to your next get-together or cookout. Not to mention it’s kind of fun to cut out shapes on the top or make a lattice from the dough to show off your creative side.

Ingredients For Dough:

• 2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 2/3 cup of cold unsalted butter
• 6 to 10 Tablespoons of ice water
• 1/3 cup of shortening
• 1 egg

Ingredients For Filling:

• 5 cups of fresh tart cherries pitted
• 2 teaspoons of lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1/3 cup of all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Mix together the flour and salt in a large bowl.
2. Cut the butter and shortening into the mixture until crumbly.
3. Add ice water one tablespoon at a time until the fork holds the dough together when pressed.
4. Divide the dough in half.
5. Shape each half into a disk.
6. Wrap in Saran Wrap and refrigerate overnight.
7. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare to make the filling.
8. Place the cherries in a large bowl and cover with lemon juice and almond extract.
9. In a separate smaller bowl mix the sugar, flour, and cinnamon together.
10. Sprinkle the dry mixture of sugar over the cherries with lemon juice until they are lightly coated.
11. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place it on a floured surface.
12. Roll out one disc until it is an eighth of an inch thick and circular.
13. Drape this over your 9-inch pie pan and press a fork on the sides of the rim so as to decorate the crust. Trim off any dough that overhangs the side of the pie pan.
14. Add the cherry filling.
15. Roll out the remaining dough disc into an eighth of an inch thick circle.
16. Take a cookie cutter that is small and cut out small holes. The cookie-cutter should be about an inch in size.
17. Place the top crust over the filling and trim off any excess dough.
18. Seal the edge and flute it.
19. Take the cut-out pieces of pie topping and place them along the edge or on the top of the pie as a decoration.
20. Bake the pie for 40 minutes.
21. Beat one egg well. Take the pie out after 40 minutes and brush the egg on top.
22. Put the pie back into the oven for an additional 15 to 20 minutes until it is golden brown, and the filling is bubbling.
23. When finished remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

Tips:

• If you don’t have shortening the dough can be made with one cup of cold butter instead of the butter and shortening mix.
• If you don’t have an egg the browning agent can be a tablespoon of whole milk that is brushed on 20 minutes before the pie is finished.
• If you don’t have a cookie-cutter, you can get creative with a butter knife and cut out shapes that you make freehand.