I used this recipe from The Food Network with a few tweaks (in parentheses):
- 4 cups fresh or frozen tart cherries (I used fresh and had to pit them by hand!!)
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (I compromised and used 1 1/4c)
- 4 tablespoons cornstarch (my small local grocery was out of cornstarch [not kidding] so I used tapioca mix since other recipes call for it)
- 1/8 tablespoon almond extract
- Your favorite pie crust or pie dough recipe for 2 crust pie (I used Pillsbury refrigerated dough)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons butter, to dot
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, to sprinkle
Directions
Place cherries in medium saucepan and place over heat. Cover. After the cherries lose considerable juice, which may take a few minutes, remove from heat. I cooked mine for about 10 minutes.
In a small bowl, mix the sugar and tapioca together. Pour this mixture into the hot cherries and mix well. Add the almond extract, if desired, and mix. Return the mixture to the stove and cook over low heat until thickened, stirring frequently. SIde note: The cherry mixture is DELICIOUS at this point so you might want to start off with extra cherries since you may be eating a few while the mixture is thickening. This took me 8 minutes. I think if you cook off less juice in the previous step, the mixture will thicken more quickly. Remove from the heat and let cool. If the filling is too thick, add a little water, too thin, add a little more tapioca. I added 1T of tapioca at this point. The mixture does thicken considerably once it cools!
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Use your favorite pie dough recipe. Prepare your crust. Divide in half. Roll out each piece large enough to fit into an 8 to 9-inch pan. Pour cooled cherry mixture into the crust. Dot with butter. Moisten edge of bottom crust. Place top crust on and flute the edge of the pie. Make a slit in the middle of the crust for steam to escape. Sprinkle with sugar.
Bake for about 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool.
No comments:
Post a Comment