With one pie in the books, the 52 Weeks of Pie committee was already getting requests and questions about a second week of pie. Whatever thoughts we might have had about being a one-hit wonder were eliminated by the volume of pressure from friends and family. We vowed not to be the Tommy Tutone of pies, and produce a second, equally substantial hit. [Confession: “867-5309 Jenny” is one of my favorite 80s songs!)
I cannot tell a lie: growing up, cherry pie was my favorite, and Mom made the best. I don’t know if she made her own pie crusts or not, but I’m sure the filling came from a can. There was nothing wrong with that. I remember the sheer joy of being able to use a spoon to eat any remaining filling that lined the inside of the can. I’m pretty sure I licked the inside of the lid too, sharp edges be damned!
At 52 Weeks, our pie would be slightly different. I’m pretty sure anyone can dump the contents of a can into a store bought crust so we upped the ante a bit by using frozen sweet cherries. I’d have loved to use fresh cherries but it’s the wrong time of year. To give the pie some tartness, we used a cup of cranberry-cherry juice. Additional flavors would come from cinnamon, vanilla, and nutmeg.
- 1 pie crust
- 4 cups frozen pitted cherries
- 1 cup cranberry-cherry juice
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
I mixed the cornstarch, sugar and juice in a saucepan, bringing it to a boil to give it a slightly more thicker consistency. From that, I added the cherries, cinnamon, nutmeg and extract and tossed it all together. I prepared the premade pie crust and poured the mix into the crust.
I added the second layer of pie crust and tried to make it look neat by folding the edges together and pinching them into a sort of scalloped edging.
I baked the pie at 425° for 10 minutes. and then reduced the heat to 375° for 45 more minutes.
After 15 minutes I added aluminum foil to the crust to try and keep it from getting too dry. This was very difficult because the pie plate was so darn hot and it is not easy to wrap the foil around just the edge. I got it on as close as I could. When I told someone else this, she suggested I start with the foil on and remove it for the last 15 minutes of baking. Genius! Or so it would seem. I’ll try that next time.
The pie came out looking pretty and smelling great. I ate two pieces the first night. After the first piece, I wanted more. After the second piece, I felt sort of ill. Later, the family dug in and gave feedback. Some helpful criticism I received was there was too much cinnamon flavor. I personally thought the crust was too dry and crumbly. The filling was good but a bit runny; I’d like the cherry mixture to be thicker next time.
A good pie, but not a great pie. It wouldn’t wow most people but it wasn’t the pits, either. I learned a little and will use that info in the future. I am sure to revisit cherry pie again down the road!