Favorite cherry pie recipes?

[gertdog]

For the 4th of July I would like to make a cherry pie. However, I have never successfully made such a pie. The filling is the problem- it never "gels" up at all, so when you slice it, it no longer resembles pie at all. I don't want the filling to be like jello, but I do want it to be thicker than just juice.

Helene (HRJ) posted a great-sounding blueberry pie on another thread. The filling is cooked on the stove and poured into a baked pie crust, then chilled to set. There is no top crust. When blueberries come into season, I'm definitely making this pie! I wonder if there are cherry pies out there that can be made using a similar technique.

Anyone have a tried and true cherry pie recipe to share? Doesn't have to be light, just good! :D

Thanks!

Stephanie

[Chocolate Rose]

Stephanie, my dh's absolute favorite dessert is cherry pie, and I don't care for pie.:D So, when we were first together (24 years ago) I went on a mission to find the best cherry pie for him. This is the one I found and have been making ever since. He swears it's the best. I think that it was originally a James Beard recipe.


* Exported from MasterCook *

Favorite Cherry Pie

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 1 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Pies

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
2 cans tart cherries
1 cup sugar
5 tablespoons flour
4 drops almond flavoring
2 tablespoons butter
Unbaked pastry for 2-crust 9" pie

Drain the juice from the cherries into a 2-quart saucepan. Combine with the sugar and flour. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and let cook a minute or two. Add the cherries and again bring to a boil. Cool, and stir in the flavoring. Turn into a pastry lined pie pan. Dot with butter and cover with top pastry. Cut vents for steam. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes or until crust is browned.

[Pat]

This is the one I always use. It is from the state's largest newspaper's food critic. I do not use the crust recipe because of fat content but use one that I like from the Am. Heart Association.

* Exported from MasterCook *

Courier-Journal Cherry Pie

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 8 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Pie

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
Crust:
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
6 tablespoons cold water
Cherry Filling:
4 cups sour cherries
1 1/2 cups cherry juice and/or water
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons butter

Crust: Combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Cut the butter into bits and add it to the flour as you do. Using your fingers, 2 knives, or a pastry blender, break the butter into small bits, until the mixture resembles a coarse meal and the biggest bits of butter are no larger than small peas. Add water and stir to blend. Divide the mixture into halves, flatten into disks about 1 inch thick, wrap in plastic and refrigerate 30 minutes. Roll one of the disks into a circle about 1/8 inch thick and use it to line a 9-inch shallow pie plate. Refrigerate the pie plate.

Filling: If using fresh cherries, pit them. If using frozen cherries, thaw them in the refrigerator overnight. Drain cherries, reserving their juice or can liquid. Add enough water to make 1 1/2 cups.

Combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a small, heavy saucepan. Stir to combine evenly, breaking up the lumps of cornstarch as you do. Add liquid and stir to combine evenly. Place the pan over medium heat and cook, stirring often, until the mixture boils and becomes translucent. Remove from heat and stir in almond extract, if using.

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Pour cherries into pastry-lined pie plate. Pour hot liquid over the top, distributing it evenly. Dot with butter, if desired.

Roll the remaining disk of pastry dough into a circle adequate to cover the top of the pie. Or, roll the pastry into a rectangle and cut 1-inch wide strips to weave into a lattice on top of the pie.

Place the pie in the oven with a cookie sheet on the rack below. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 and bake 20 to 25 minutes more, until pie is bubbly and crust is brown.

Source:
"Courier Journal, 6-19-99"
Yield:
"8 slices"

[badunnin]

This is the one I got at the Traverse City Cherry Festival a few years back...

TRADITIONAL CHERRY PIE Makes 8 servings.
2 (16-ounce) cans unsweetened tart cherries or 4 cups fresh or
frozen unsweetened tart cherries
1 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca or cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Pastry for 2-crust, 9-inch pie
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
If using canned cherries, drain them well. Discard the juice or save for another use. If using fresh
tart cherries, pit them. If using frozen cherries, it is not necessary to thaw them. Combine cherries,
granulated sugar, tapioca and almond extract in a large mixing bowl; mix well. Let stand 15 minutes.
Line a 9-inch pie plate with pastry; fill with cherry mixture. Dot with butter. Adjust top crust, cutting
slits for steam to escape, or cut top crust into strips and make a lattice-top pie. Bake in a preheated
400-degree oven 50 to 60 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly.

[gertdog]

Thanks all! I'm bumping this up in hopes there might be a magic "no bake" or "stovetop" cherry pie recipe out there, but if there isn't, the recipes you've posted sound really good to me! :)

[Gracie]

Stephanie - I'm not sure what you're trying not to find, but my big apple pie experiment from last fall taught me that it's absolutely necessary to cook the filling before you bake a fruit pie, it keeps it from being so runny, but you never get jello. I'm going to try Chocolate Rose's recipe. The cherries look pretty good right now.

do I need a cherry pitter?

Loren

[gertdog]

Loren,

That's what I think too- that I need to cook the filling on the stove to ensure it thickens.

As for a cherry pitter- they do work, they do not reduce the mess. I have a pitter but usually use a bobby pin. Slide the looped end of the pin into the cherry alongside the pit; give a little twist as if to "hook" the pit; then pull the pit out. I am faster with this method than I am with the pitter.

[Gracie]

What a cool idea! And I already have a bobby pin! I'll give it a shot.

Loren

[RebeccaT]

I want to make cherry pie on the 4th as well! Most of the recipes I have seen use canned cherries, though, and I'd really like to use fresh. Does anyone know, can you sub Bing cherries for tart/sour cherries? Is there a significant difference?

Has anyone tried the Deep Dish Cherry Pie from July? I think the filling looks really good, with all of those spices... I am thinking about using that filling with a different crust. Thoughts?

[yomomma]

Just wanted to post that I tried Pat's posted recipe above and it turned out WONDERFUL. All I could do was stare at it because it was just so doggone gorgeous - taste was extra good too. Thanks for sharing your recipe. I had never tried the pre juice thickening method before but I will never do it the other way again - why worry?

[Kay Henderson]

This is for RebeccaT and also Stephanie if it applies. Last summer, I requested help on cherry pies made with fresh, sweet cherries. (Fresh, sour cherries are not available in my part of the world.) The discussion is on this thread:

http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=43851&highlight=cherry+pie

You might also try searching on cherry pie (titles only) as there are three other threads on the subject.

Good luck!

Kay

[RebeccaT]

Tee hee!

Kay, thank you, but I actually responded to your thread last summer with the recommendation of the Deep Dish Cherry Pie from July 2003! :)

But I am glad this thread bubbled back up... makes me look forward to cherry season. Man, I loved that pie! :D

[Kathy B]

DS and I picked about 8 c. cherries off my mom's tree Thursday, and I made two pies with them. The first one (Pat's) was baked and eaten, the second one (Chocolate Rose's) was frozen unbaked.

The first one was very good, if slightly sour. That was not a problem, because my family likes sour, but as a traditional cherry pie is usually sweeter, it might be worth increasing the sugar to 2 c. next time. My mom liked it, but said "It needs a little more sugar." The filling was NOT runny, and the pieces held their shape very well. The filling was very thick with cherries as opposed to many pies I have had that have some cherries with a lot of sauce and crust. It was great. If you don't have quite 4 cups of cherries, though, it will probably still turn out fine.

The other recipe is almost identical, except it uses flour instead of cornstarch and cooks the cherries in the sauce for a few minutes rather than pouring the sauce over the cherries. I expect it will taste pretty much the same, but we will find out soon if DS has anything to say about it! ;) Thanks to both of you for sharing your recipes!

[Middydd]

I often use the Cherry Vanilla Pie recipe from Epicurious, you cook the filling on the stove until it thickens up. I whirl the tapioca in the food processor before using so it's a finer texture, and doesn't give the little "jelly ball" effect I've sometimes gotten from tapioca.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/14181

[mbrogier]

I've done several different cherry pie recipes since that's Rob's favorite pie. Tapioca works the best as a thickener. Cooking the filling in advance does make a difference. I use sweet cherries and just reduce the sugar a bit.