My Labor Day efforts of labor…..

Making my first homemade cherry pie, started with fresh cherries, not the canned ones! I pitted my own cherries!!!! Oh my!

Here’s the recipe:

Homemade Cherry Pie

• 1 to 1 ¼ pounds of fresh cherries, pitted
• 1 ½ cups sugar, divided into 2- ¾ cups each
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• Dash of salt
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 3-4 drops of almond extract
• Pastry for double crust pie

In a medium sauce pan, cover the cherries with water and bring to a boil for 5 minutes at medium heat. Drain completely, reserving one cup of the liquid for later.
In a medium sauce pan combine ¾ cup of the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Blend the cornstarch thoroughly with the sugar so that the starch particles are separated by sugar to prevent lumps from forming. Slowly stir in the reserved liquid till the mixture is smooth. Cook and stir over medium heat till the mixture is thickened and bubbly. Mixture should bubble over entire surface. Cook for 1 minute longer; stirring constantly to prevent sticking and scorching. Remove from heat. Stir in remaining ¾ cup sugar, butter and almond extract. Add cherries and sir well. Prepare pastry.

Double Pastry Pie Crust       

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup shortening
• 6-7 tablespoons of cold water

In medium bowl stir together the flour and salt. Cut in the shortening with a pastry blender until the pieces are the size of small peas. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon water over part of mixture; gently tossing with a fork. Push to side of the bowl. Repeat until all is moistened. Do not over mix or the dough will become tough. Form the dough into 2 equal sized balls. On a lightly floured surface flatten 1 ball of dough with hands. Roll the dough from center to edge, forming a circle about 12 inches in diameter or 1/8 inch thick. For easy transfer to the pie plate, wrap the pastry around the rolling pin, gently lifting with hands. Unroll into the pie plate without stretching.  Trim the edges. Fill the pastry with filling. Repeat for second crust.
Top the filling with the second crust. Crimp the edges together sealing in the cherry mixture. Cut slits in the top crust to allow stream to escape.  Bake at 350 F for approx. 50 minutes. Cool on rack before serving.

Don’t forget to get your whiff of the freshly baked pie. Just simply place your nose up to the screen on the daisy and take a deep breath.

 Helpful Hints:

~shiny metal pie pans should not be used; they reflect heat and may cause a soggy crust!
~stretching the crust will cause it to shrink.
~brush the top crust with some milk and sprinkle with sugar.
~to prevent crust from over browning, cover the edges with foil and remove about half way through the baking time.
~serve with vanilla ice cream!
~use small cookie cutters for pastry designs on top of pie ( I used fall leaves)

Did you know that these cherry pies do not turn out with a red filling? Shhhh…they add red food coloring! I did NOT add any to mine and it turned out this beautiful dark purplely color; of course my cherries were rather dark in color anyway. I love it and it is so so yummy good. Better than any cherry pie I have ever eaten!



WHAT???? The smell button does not work? Must be this modern technology stuff, not me!