1 2 3 Cherry Pie Food

CHERRY PIE

Steps:

• Pit and halve the cherries. Add them to a saucepan with sugar and lemon juice and toss to combine. Cook over medium heat for a few minutes until juices are released. Use a slotted spoon to spoon cherries out into a bowl. Spoon some of the sauce into a cup and stir in the cornstarch until smooth. Return to pot with remaining juices and cook for a few minutes until thickened. Pour over cherries and set aside while you prepare the pie crust.
• Drain the juice from the cans of cherries into a saucepan, reserving 1/3 cup in a small bowl. Set the cherries aside. Add cornstarch to the bowl with the reserved 1/3 cup of juice and stir well to combine.
• Heat the saucepan (that has the juice in it) over medium heat. Add the sugar and stir well. Bring mixture to a low boil. Stir in dissolved cornstarch mixture. Cook, stirring, until thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in butter and lemon juice. Fold in the cherries. Add a few drops of red food coloring, if desired.
• Allow mixture to cool to room temperature while you prepare the pie crusts.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Set aside a 9'' pie pan. (If using canned cherries, there will be enough filling for a deep dish pie dish).
• Remove one chilled pie crust dough from the fridge. On a lightly floured counter, roll out your dough to about 12'' in diameter. Gently place in the bottom of pie dish. Spoon the cherry filling into the unbaked crust and sprinkle a little cinnamon over the filling. (If using fresh cherries, add a few small pieces of butter on top).
• Remove the second pie crust from the fridge and roll it out in a similar manner. Use a pizza cutter, knife or pastry wheel to cut the crust into long strips, about 1/2'' wide. Lay strips over the crust in a lattice pattern. (If you're lazy, like me, you can just lay half of the strips going one direction, and the others on top, going perpendicular, leaving a small space between each.)
• Pinch the edges of the top and bottom pie crusts together and crimp the edge, if you like. Brush a thin layer of beaten egg white over the top of the pie crust and sprinkle some granulated sugar on top.
• Bake at 400 degrees F for about 40-45 minutes. Check after about 25 minutes and gently place a piece of tinfoil over the top crust to keep it from getting too brown.
• Remove to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool for several hours. Once cooled completely you can cut and serve it, or cover it and refrigerate it overnight to serve the next day.
• Leftover cherry pie will last up to 5 days, stored in the fridge.

CHERRY PIE

Steps:

• Place cherries in medium saucepan and place over heat. Cover. After the cherries lose considerable juice, which may take a few minutes, remove from heat. In a small bowl, mix the sugar and cornstarch together. Pour this mixture into the hot cherries and mix well. Add the almond extract, if desired, and mix. Return the mixture to the stove and cook over low heat until thickened, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and let cool. If the filling is too thick, add a little water, too thin, add a little more cornstarch.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Use your favorite pie dough recipe. Prepare your crust. Divide in half. Roll out each piece large enough to fit into an 8 to 9-inch pan. Pour cooled cherry mixture into the crust. Dot with butter. Moisten edge of bottom crust. Place top crust on and flute the edge of the pie. Make a slit in the middle of the crust for steam to escape. Sprinkle with sugar.
• Bake for about 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool.

CHERRY PIE

Steps:

• First, make the pastry. Tip the flour, 50g almonds, butter, sugar and ¼ tsp salt into a food processor. Blend until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Beat the egg yolks with 2 tbsp cold water, drizzle over the flour and butter mixture and blend again until the dough starts to clump together. Tip onto a work surface and knead briefly to bring everything together into a smooth dough. Divide into two pieces and shape each lump into a puck shape. Wrap and chill for 30 mins. Will keep, wrapped and chilled, for up to two days.
• Remove the stones from the cherries - either cut them in half and pop out each stone, or use a cherry stoner. Toss the cherries with the jam, sugar and cornflour until there are no floury patches.
• If the pastry has been chilled for longer than 30 mins, bring it out of the fridge 20 mins or so before rolling, as it will be very firm. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Dust a surface with a little flour, then unwrap one piece of pastry. Carefully roll it out until it's large enough to line the base and sides of a 25cm pie dish, skillet pan or cake tin. The pastry will be very delicate, if any cracks appear when rolling, squash them back together and keep going. Lift the pastry over the rolling pin and into the dish - don't worry if it breaks, just patch it up by pushing it into the corners and up the sides and closing any holes. There should be a little overhang around the edges. Sprinkle the reserved 2 tbsp almonds over the base, then spread the cherries on top to fill the pie in an even layer.
• Roll out the remaining pastry so it's large enough to cover the pie. Brush a little beaten egg white around the pastry edge. Top the pie with the pastry lid as it is (piercing a hole in the centre for the steam to escape), or make a lattice topping. To do this, cut the pastry into strips, however wide you like. Arrange half the strips in one direction over the pie, leaving a few centimetres gap between each. Weave the remaining strips under and over these in the opposite direction, creating a lattice pattern. Squash the pastry together around the edge, then trim the excess with a sharp knife.
• Crimp the edge for a neat finish, or use any pastry scraps to make shapes to run around the edge - we used a piping nozzle to cut small circles. Stick them on with a little more egg wash, then brush the whole pie with a thin layer of egg wash. Sprinkle over a little caster sugar. Bake for 55 mins-1 hr, checking the pie after 40 mins. The edges may brown more quickly than the centre, if this happens, wrap a little kitchen foil around the edge to protect it.
• Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 1 hr. If you cut it too soon, the fruit juice will be very runny and flood the pie. Best served just warm with cream or ice cream.

1-2-3 CHERRY POKE CAKE

Steps:

• Remove foil lid from cake package. (Do not remove cake from pan.) Pierce cake with skewer at 1/2-inch intervals, poking skewer through cake to bottom of pan.
• Add boiling water to gelatin mix in small bowl; stir 2 min. until completely dissolved. Stir in cold water; pour over cake. Refrigerate 1 hour. Meanwhile, make curls from semi-sweet chocolate. (See tip.)
• Invert cake onto platter. Cut cake horizontally in half. Spread bottom half of cake with 1/3 cup COOL WHIP; cover with 1 cup pie filling and top cake layer. Frost top and sides of cake with remaining COOL WHIP. Garnish with remaining pie filling and chocolate curls.

CLASSIC CHERRY PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• For the crust: Blend shortening, flour, powdered sugar, butter and salt. Cut flour until it resembles cornmeal. Beat egg, blend in vinegar and water, and sprinkle over flour mixture. Toss with fork. Chill before rolling, about 1 hour. Makes 2 (9-inch pie crusts).
• For the filling: In a large size bowl, mix together all ingredients and pour into the pie shell. Cover with top crust and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for 45 minutes or until golden. Serve warm.

VANILLA CHERRY PIE

Steps:

• First, make the pastry. Put the butter and flour in a food processor and whizz until the mixture looks like damp breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and pulse to combine. Whisk the egg yolks, 2 tbsp cold water and the vanilla in a bowl, then drizzle over the flour mixture. Pulse until the dough starts to clump together, adding a drizzle more water, 1 tsp at a time, if the dough feels dry - try not to add too much or the pastry will be tough. Tip out onto a work surface and knead briefly to bring everything together to a smooth dough. Break into 2 pieces, one a little larger than the other, wrap in cling film, pat into flat discs and chill for 30 mins.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Remove the larger piece of pastry from the fridge - if it feels a little firm, leave at room temperature for 20 mins to soften. On a floured surface, roll out to the thickness of a £1 coin. Use the pastry to line a 20-22cm metal pie plate or tin, leaving a little excess pastry overhanging - trim with a pair of scissors if necessary. Line the base with baking parchment and baking beans, and blind-bake for 20 mins. Mix the cherries, cornflour and sugar in a bowl. Add the cherry jam, vanilla and butter, and mix again.
• Remove the beans and parchment from the base, brush the pastry with some of the beaten egg white and bake for 5 mins more until golden. Trim the pastry to neaten.
• Turn the oven down to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4. Tip the cherries into the centre of the pie. Roll out the remaining pastry to the same thickness as before, large enough to cover the pie. Slide the pastry onto a well-floured sheet of baking parchment and, using your favourite mini biscuit cutter or the wide end of a piping nozzle, stamp out a scattering of shapes - we used a 2cm star cutter, but hearts or circles would look nice - just don't cut out too many or the pastry will collapse. Brush the egg white over the edge of the pie rim and all over the lid. Place a few cut-out shapes back on the pastry, if you like. Carefully lift the baking parchment and pastry, and slide the pastry lid onto the pie, removing the parchment. Trim the excess pastry, then use a fork to press the lid to the base. Bake for 35 mins.
• Brush the pie with the remaining egg white and scatter with the remaining 1 tbsp sugar. Bake for a further 5 mins until golden brown and bubbling. Leave to cool for at least 20 mins before serving with crème fraîche, thick cream or ice cream.

BEST CHERRY PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Drain cherries, reserving 1/2 cup juice.
• Combine sugar, cornstarch and salt.
• Combine cherry juice, food coloring, almond extract and lemon juice.
• Add to dry ingredients, mixing well.
• Add cherries and mix well again.
• Add butter and let stand for 15 minutes.
• Pour cherry mixture into pie crust and finish top with lattice work pie crust.
• Bake for 50 to 55 minutes.

BEST CHERRY PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 C). Make pastry and refrigerate.
• Drain cherries, reserving 1 cup liquid. In a saucepan combine sugar, flour and salt. Stir in cherry liquid and bring to a boil, stirring often. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Mixture will thicken.
• When mixture is thickened, add butter, almond extract, food coloring and cherries. Cover and refrigerate.
• On lightly covered surface, roll out half of the pastry into an 11 inch circle. Put into 9 inch pie dish. Roll other half of pastry into another 11 inch circle. With a knife or pastry wheel, cut eight 1/2 inch strips.
• Pour cooled cherry filling into pie dish. Place pastry strips horizontally, then vertically, across the top of the pie and lightly brush with egg yolk. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, and cool before serving.

CHERRY PIE

Steps:

• Mix ingredients for filling.
• Place in pastry-lined pie pan.
• Put top crust on. Cut vent slits in top crust, and flute edges.
• Brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar.
• Bake at 425°F for 25 minutes, reduce heat to 350°F and bake for 25-30 minutes more.
• TIP: put sugar, flour and cinnamon in a large zip-loc bag. Add the cherries and toss to coat. This coats them more even than doing it in a bowl and the filling is firmer.

LATTICE-TOPPED TRIPLE-CHERRY PIE

Steps:

• Strain syrup from Morello cherries into measuring cup. Combine drained Morello cherries, 1/4 cup of strained Morello syrup, and cornstarch in medium bowl; stir to blend. Combine remaining strained Morello syrup, dried cherries, cinnamon, nutmeg, and star anise in heavy large saucepan. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat until cherries are plump, about 10 minutes. Uncover, increase heat to medium, and simmer until mixture bubbles thickly and is reduced to 3/4 cup, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes longer. Discard cinnamon stick, nutmeg, and star anise. Add Bing cherries and sugar and stir over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves; increase heat to medium and simmer until fresh cherries are tender when pierced with sharp knife, about 5 minutes. Add Morello cherry mixture and stir over medium heat until mixture bubbles and thickens, about 3 minutes. Transfer pie filling to medium bowl and cool completely. DO AHEAD Can be made 4 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.
• Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 400°F. Roll out 1 pie crust disk on floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Trim dough overhang to 1 inch. Spoon cooled filling into crust. Roll out second pie crust disk on lightly floured surface to 13x10-inch rectangle. Cut dough rectangle lengthwise into 3/4-inch-wide strips. Arrange 5 dough strips across cherry filling in 1 direction and 5 strips in opposite direction, forming lattice and spacing evenly, weaving if desired. Brush bottom crust edge lightly with cream and press dough strips to crust to seal. Trim any overhang from dough strips. Turn dough edge of bottom crust up over dough strips, pinching gently to seal. Crimp edges decoratively. Brush edges and lattice lightly with whipping cream.
• Place pie on rimmed baking sheet and bake until crust is golden brown and filling bubbles thickly, about 50 minutes. Transfer pie to rack and cool to lukewarm, about 2 hours.
• Serve pie lukewarm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream.