I am so happy there is a national holiday celebrating the cherry pie! Who doesn’t love a splendid cherry pie fresh from the oven? It’s my dad’s favorite, and he requests it for his birthday instead of cake. Can we also count a cherry cobbler as a pie? Yes! I say anything that has crust and cherries qualifies as a cherry pie.
Some of you gourmet chefs will die when I tell you that I use canned cherries many times. OK, so now that we are over that, let’s talk about the making of a great pie. When I can find fresh cherries in season, I love to cook with them. So whether you make your filling or purchase it, make a pie, and celebrate Cherry Pie day.
I got this idea one day that I was going to make a cherry cobbler and use donuts for the crust. Yes, that’s right—donuts. I had several leftover Krispy Kreme donuts (hard to believe) that needed a new purpose, so I decided that cutting the donuts lengthwise and placing them on top of cherry pie filling would be perfect. I prepared my filing and put it in a casserole dish, covered with sliced donuts, and baked at 350° until bubbly, approximately 20 minutes. The donuts had crusted and crowned that cobbler perfectly.
I am sharing a recipe with you today from Taste of the South magazine: Fresh Cherry-Almond Cobbler, one of my favorites. Enjoy today!
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3⁄4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided
- 1⁄4 cup ground roasted almonds
- 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 1⁄3 cup ice water
- 2 1⁄2 pounds fresh or frozen cherries, stemmed and pitted
- 1⁄4 cup cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- In the work bowl of a food processor, pulse together flour, 1⁄4 cup sugar, almonds, and salt. Add butter, pulsing until mixture resembles coarse crumbs, approximately
- 20 seconds. With processor running, gradually add 1⁄3 cup ice water until a dough forms. (Add additional water, 1 tablespoon at a time, if needed.)
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 2 equal disks. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, approximately 1 hour.
- In a large saucepan, combine cherries and 1⁄2 cup sugar over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves. Add cornstarch, lemon juice, extract, and salt, stirring to combine. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll 1 disk of dough into a 12-inch circle. Transfer to a 9-inch pie plate, pressing into bottom and up sides. Spoon filling into prepared piecrust.
- Roll remaining dough 1⁄8-inch thick. Using a knife or pastry wheel, cut dough into 1-inch-wide strips, or strips of varying widths, if desired. Arrange strips over filling in a lattice design. Trim excess crust to extend 1⁄2 inch beyond edges of pie plate. Fold edges over, and crimp as desired. Brush crust with egg; sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.
- Bake until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling, 45 to 50 minutes. (Loosely cover with aluminum foil to prevent excess browning, if necessary.) Let cool completely on a wire rack.
Share with me your favorite cherry pie recipe or memory of a great cherry pie!
Comments 8
More than twenty years ago I was living in the middle East and a group of us ex-pats planned to celebrate the Fourth of July. I decided I had to make a cherry pie. Only no refrigerated, store bought crusts were available, and certainly no canned cherries. What’s a person to do?
Luckily I had brought my Betty Crocker cookbook for amounts and ingredients.
All that was left was to manually pit every cherry (and I like loads of them in my pies) that went into the pie! I think it took hours (maybe not, but that’s how it felt).
I also make my first (and surprisingly edible) crust.
The pie was a hit.
To be honest (and modest) I’ve never tasted a better one since that date!
Yum!
For you cherry pie bakers – and for the recipe above, does one use tart cherries or just regular sweet cherries (like bing)?
My dear Grandmother used to make my sister and I a Cherry Pie with tea when we visited her in the summer.
There was a Cherry Festival in her small town in No. Calif. and we would eat cherries for hours until we got sick.
But, her pie was absolutely delicious I will never forget and thanks for that memory of times gone by.
I love to make cherries jubilee flambe ……hum and I just finished making hubby a strawberry shortcake! Oh, the calories I am consuming but I am content and happy, Carmel
Thanks for the Cherry Pie recipe, as my husband loves Cherry Pie. I have never made a crust with almonds or sugar so this recipe sounds delicious. My Mom made the best pies so I very seldom made pies, more a pastry, cookie and cake baker. Now, that Mom is deceased I am making pies so again, thanks.
Oh If I weren’t on weight watchers, I would make one right now. But then I think (okay, i KNOW), I would eat more than I should. So for today, just feasting my eyes is great. Love your blog!
It was my father’s favourite too, but for some reason, although my mom baked delicious apple and peach pies, she never baked cherry ones. My dad would sometimes order a slice for dessert at one of our favourite restaurants and also resort to eating store bought ones! If only he were alive…I would try to make him a cherry pie…I’m hoping he’s having a “heaven made” one today.
Enjoyed reading this. I am not a pie baker but do love cherry pie. I have a couple of comments. When I was a little girl my mom made a cherry pie for George Washington’s birthday. I informed her that he wasn’t coming because he was dead! And secondly, my grandpa always said he had two favorite kinds of pie, “hot” and “cold”. Good memories.
I have none to share. I’m not a pie baker… But I am a pie “eater”! As with so many of your other recipes, though, I’m going to learn. Yummmmmm!
Sooo many of our family …. And friends…… Memories are made around our dining room table. A framed note I once read is always close to that table and is guaranteed to get a chuckle and thought. It says:
“At our table….
We set a place for surprise
We serve opinion and sometimes fact
We simmer good conversation.”
Dessert, or just coffee/tea and something sweet…. Is a great way to end a meal. This Cherry pie sounds like just the thing!!! Again, thank you sooo much for sharing!!
CJ (Grandma Yaya)