Sweet Things Remembered

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This simple recipe uses only a few ingredients to make a delicious cherry pie. My grandma said this one was the best, and I trust her judgement.

My grandma made a lot of pies. From fruit pies to custard filled, she could do it all. There are a few specific pies that I remember her making more often, though, and one of those was cherry. She often saved recipes from ingredient packaging, just to try them out, and I found this one that she had saved from the paper of the Oregon Cherries can. Written on it in her signature all caps is “This is the best cherry pie recipe.” She wrote that, but I bet whenever she made it she gave the disclaimer that it wasn’t her best, even thought it was delicious every time. I have a tendency to do the same thing when I’m not 100% pleased with a dessert I’ve made, especially when other people are eating it. I can’t help but point out what I could have done better.

Whether it was her who made it or someone else, my grandma would analyze baked goods. I remember once during my sophomore year of college, my grandparents drove up to Toledo to pick me up and bring me home for the weekend, since I didn’t have a car. They wanted to get some lunch, so I had my grandpa take us to a little diner that friends and I would often go to that had great food and delicious pie (shout out to Schmucker’s Restaurant). They both loved it because it reminded them of the small town diners they went to in their younger days. We all got lunch and pie, and then my grandma ordered a whole cherry pie for us to take home. When we got back to their house a few hours later, we had more pie, and my grandma gave me her analysis. She told me they must make their filling a certain way, and was different than how she made hers, but it was still a really good cherry pie. Sometimes I wonder how she would respond to all of the different goodies I’ve made since staring this blog. My guess with this cherry pie is that she would tell me it’s wonderful.

Ingredients

• Double Pie Crust for a 9-inch Pie
• Sugar
• Cornstarch
• Red Tart Pie Cherries – My grandma would use the Oregon brand of pie cherries for her pies.
• Red Food Coloring (optional) – I don’t typically use the food coloring, but if you want to get a brighter red color you can add it. For the pie that is in the pictures, I did add the food coloring just so the pictures would pop a little more.
• Almond Extract (optional)
• Butter

Equipment

• Sauce pan
• Spatula or whisk
• Pie Plate – I love using my Fiesta pie plate. I have it in scarlet.
• Rolling Pin

How to Make Cherry Pie

To make this pie, you should already have a double pie crust for a 9-inch pie. You can make one or use store bought. Before making the filling, roll out your bottom crust and place in the pie plate.

• Preheat oven to 400°F
• Drain the cherries, saving the juice from one of the cans.
• In a saucepan, stir together the cherry juice, ¾ cup sugar, and 3 tbsp cornstarch.
  • This amount of sugar is half of what the recipe calls for. You will add the rest later. It is important that you only add half to start, or else your filling will not thicken properly. Don’t ask me how I know.
• Cook the mixture over medium heat, until it thickens. Stir the mixture some before it starts bubbling, but once it starts bubbling stir continuously until it is thickened. Once thick, remove it from the heat.
• Gently stir in the remaining ¾ cup of sugar, cherries, ¼ tsp of almond extract, and ¼ tsp of red food coloring (if adding).
• Pour the filling into a pastry lined pie plate and dot with butter (1 tbsp total).
• Roll out and place the top crust on the pie, and then seal it and cut the vents.
  • If you want to do a fun design, like I did, you may want to cut the pattern or design into the crust prior to adding it on top of the pie. I used small, star-shaped cookie cutters to do mine. If you don’t want to make a pattern, simply use a knife to cut a few small openings in the center of the pie after placing the crust.
• Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the crust is browned and the filling is bubbly. If the crust starts browning too quickly, you can cover the outside edge with aluminum foil to keep it from burning.
• When the pie is done, let it cool for several hours so the filling has time to thicken before serving. Enjoy!

Questions You May Have

Cherry Pie

Recipe by rebekahdearmondDifficulty: Easy

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Baking time

45

minutes

Ingredients

• 1½ cups granulated sugar

• 3 tbsp cornstarch

• 2 cans red tart pie cherries

• ¼ tsp red food coloring (optional)

• ¼ tsp almond extract (optional)

• 1 tbsp butter

• 2 crusts for a 9-inch pie

Directions

• Before making the filling, roll out your bottom crust and place in the pie plate.
• Preheat oven to 400°F
• Drain the cherries, saving the juice from one of the cans.
• In a saucepan, stir together the cherry juice, ¾ cup sugar, and 3 tbsp cornstarch.
  _{This amount of sugar is half of what the recipe calls for. You will add the rest later. It is important that you only add half to start, or else your filling will not thicken properly.}
• Cook the mixture over medium heat, until it thickens. Stir the mixture some before it starts bubbling, but once it starts bubbling stir continuously until it is thickened. Once thick, remove it from the heat.
• Gently stir in the remaining ¾ cup of sugar, cherries, ¼ tsp of almond extract, and ¼ tsp of red food coloring (if adding).
• Pour the filling into a pastry lined pie plate and dot with butter (1 tbsp total).
• Roll out and place the top crust on the pie, and then seal it and cut the vents.
  _{If you want to do a fun design, like I did, you may want to cut the pattern or design into the crust prior to adding it on top of the pie. I used small, star-shaped cookie cutters to do mine. If you don’t want to make a pattern, simply use a knife to cut a few small openings in the center of the pie after placing the crust.}
• Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the crust is browned and the filling is bubbly. If the crust starts browning too quickly, you can cover the outside edge with aluminum foil to keep it from burning.
• When the pie is done, let it cool for several hours so the filling has time to thicken before serving. Enjoy!