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The sour cherries
That crunchy all butter crust
A perfect old fashioned pie
Recipe
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Prep Time: 45 min
- 2 1/2 cups AP flour
- 2 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup cold butter, cubed
- 1/4 cup – 1/3 cup cold water
- eggwash for brushing pastry
- coarse sugar
- 4 1/2 cups fresh cherries
- 3/4 – 1 cup sugar(depends on sweetness preference)
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- zest from half lemon
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp almond extract
- 1/4 tsp coconut extract
- pinch of salt
- coarse sugar for sprinkling on pie crust
- Pie dough 101: Man, I have learned some hard truths about pie dough! For starters, letting your dough rest after forming into discs is critical. Pie dough needs time to rest, as it will eventually rise and become flaky, but it needs that fridge time. Try for at least 2 hours, or overnight if you have the time!
- I find that the oils from the citrus zest really enhances the flavor of pies! Try not to skip this step!! Lemon zest is an amazing addition! If you have time, try mixing your sugar and lemon zest an hour or two before you mix your filling. The longer the citrus oils sit with the sugar, the better punch of flavor you will get in your pie! If you don’t have orange, lemon would work!
- Pie Pans: I’ve heard you can bake a pie in anything! Annnd Im going to argue that glass pyrex or metal tin pans are the best. I have baked pies in all sorts of dishes and I have found that glass and metal are the best! I have linked one above and another here for your reference!
- Cold dough makes some sexy, delicious layers in pie! Do not bake your pie when your dough is at room temp! You pie needs to sit and chill for at least 30 minutes before baking. Again, you will get amazing texture and layers as a result. You can also use the freezer to chill your dough.
Bake Time: 55 min
Yields: 8 slices
What you need
Pie Dough
Cherry Filling
What to do
1. For the crust, place flour, sugar salt in a large bowl. Give the mix a stir with a wooden spoon so that everything is combined.
2. Cut cold butter in cubes and then add half to flour mix. Make sure every piece of butter is coated in flour. Then pinch each piece so that it flattens. This takes some time, but the end result will be a tender/flaky pie crust! Mix and incorporate every pinched piece of butter. Add second half of butter and repeat the process. The mix will look crumbly and cornmeal-like when youre done.
3. Pour one tbsp of cold water at a time into the mix. Give the mix a stir after each tbsp of water. At this point, after a few tbsp, i like to use my hands to start pulling the dough together. Use only 1/2 cup of water, no more. If you find your dough is coming together with ease, and not crumbling, then stop adding water, and pour your dough onto a floured surface.
4. Pull your dough into a rectangular or disc then cut it in half. Then cut each half into thirds. Stack the thirds on top of eachother and form each half into its own disc. This method helps create flaky layers! Wrap both discs separately in plastic wrap. Chill for at least 2 hrs, overnight preferred! (*see note)
5. Remove pie discs from fridge. Let them rest for about 30-60 min. (*see note) The dough needs to be soft enough to roll out with ease.
6. For the pie filling, place lemon zest and sugar in a medium bowl, mix with hands so the oils from the zest release, set to the side. I like my pies a little sweeter, so I use a whole cup of sugar. If you like less sweet and more tart, use 3/4 cup sugar. Wait 30 minutes if you can, the zest will infuse the sugar(*see note below as to why). With fresh cherries, you will need to pit them. I have linked the cherry pitter that I use. After pitting the cherries, I like to give them a rough chop. This step is optional. Toss cherries in the cornstarch and then add them both to the lemon sugar. Add salt vanilla, almond and coconut extracts to the bowl, mix thoroughly. Set to the side.
7. Find a counter top or board and flour it generously. Take one disc of dough and roll it out into a circle that is about 10-11 inches in diameter. To move this pie dough safely to the pie pan… I roll my rolling pin along the dough and pull the dough up as a roll, almost like rolling up a rug! Then I unroll the dough onto the pie pan (*see note below about pie pan preferences).
8. After you have situated the dough in the pie pan, add cherry mix. Evenly spread mix out to the edges of the pie dough, place the pan in fridge to chill while you roll out the second dough disc. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Begin rolling out the second disc of pie dough, same diameter as the first dough disc. From here, you can place it on top of the cherry mix and tuck or pinch the doughs together, creating a dutch like pie. Or you can cut out shapes or do a lattice weave. Your choice!
9. Once you have covered the pie filling with the pie crust (dutch or lattice) your pie needs to chill. Place in the fridge to chill for at least 30 min (*see note).
10. When ready to bake, brush 1 egg whisked (and mixed with one tsp of water or milk) on top of the pie. You dont need to use the whole egg and cream, just a thin brush on the pie crust is fine. (This gives the pie a nice golden brown color!) Sprinkle with coarse sugar, then bake for 20 min. After 20 minutes, turn the heat down to 375 and bake for another 30-40 min (ovens vary so watch your pie!). I place a strip of foil (or pie shield if you fancy), around the crust (the last 15 min or so) to keep the edges from burning. A good rule of thumb (to know when your pies are really done) is to look in the middle of the pie… are the juices bubbling? And juices are bubbling around the edges? Your pie is done. Wait at least 3 hours, as the pie needs to set. Top with ice cream or whipped cream and INHALEIT!!! Pie lasts up to 3 days at room temp (I doubt it will last that long tho!).
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