Cherry Pie

Let’s make a cherry pie! I love cherry pie. My cherry pie is fragrant with orange zest, almond extract, and cinnamon. My recipe adds in both a pinch of black & pink peppercorns. My secret ingredients! Adds a little bit of complexity to the flavor, but also creates a lovely balance.  Everyone loves my cherry pie!

Ingredients:

2 bags of frozen cherries

Juice & zest of 1 orange 

1 tsp almond extract 

1 tsp vanilla extract 

1 cup of sugar 

1 cinnamon stick 

1/4 tsp salt

A pinch of  ground black pepper 

A pinch of ground pink peppercorns

5 tbsp cornstarch

(Make 2 pie crusts, so double the recipe)

Pastry dough/all butter pie crust 

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour 

1/4 tsp salt 

1 stick of cold cubed butter 

1/4 cup ice water 

Directions:

Mix the salt & flour. 

Rub the pieces of butter into the flour between your fingers. You will create crumbles. When there are  at least walnuts size pieces, add in the ice water. Form a dough. Wrap it in plastic wrap and let it sit in the fridge for an hour. It must be cold for you to roll it out. When ready, roll it out into your tart of pie pan. 

I defrosted the cherries at room temperature in the pot I intended to use to bake the filling. The frozen cherries released a lot of juice as they defrosted. 

I warmed up the cherries to release more of those juices. Then strained them because I wanted to create a reduction of that cherry juice to sweeten it up. I added the orange juice & zest. 15 minutes on medium-high heat. In a separate bowl, mix the sugar & cornstarch. Toss the cherries so that they are fully coated. Add them back into the reduced cherry juices. Add in a cinnamon stick, the vanilla & almond extracts. Cook on medium heat till thickened. 

Let the filling cool while you prepare your pie shell for baking.

Prepare you pie crust and place it in your pie pan.

Add the mixture into the pie crust.

I created a lattice with the second pastry dough disk. Cut some of the excess of the first disk that is hanging over the pie tin, and then fold and crimp to create a ruffled border.

Apply an egg wash. Sprinkle sugar on the crust. Bake for 25 minutes at 475 F. Lower the temperature to 375 F and tent a large piece of foil over it. Continue to bake for another hour.

The long bake helps the filling thicken and the crust to bake beautifully!

Let it rest at room temperature for at least 4 hours. It will continue to thicken as it cools down.

Enjoy and Kali Oreksi!