Cherry Apple Lattice Pie Food

APPLE-CHERRY CREAM CHEESE PIE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar and salt; cut in butter until crumbly. Gradually add ice water, tossing with a fork until dough holds together when pressed. Divide dough in half. Shape each into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 1 hour or overnight., Preheat oven to 425°. For filling, in a small bowl, beat cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar and vanilla until blended. In a large bowl, toss apples with flour, pie spice, salt and remaining sugar. Stir in cherries., On a lightly floured surface, roll one half of dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; transfer to a 9-in. pie plate. Trim pastry even with rim., Spread cream cheese mixture onto bottom of pastry. Add apple mixture; dot with butter. Roll remaining dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle. Place over filling. Trim, seal and flute edge. Cut slits in top., Bake 45-50 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cover top loosely with foil during the last 10-15 minutes if needed to prevent overbrowning. Cool on a wire rack. Refrigerate leftovers.

LATTICE-TOP CHERRY PIE

Steps:

• Make the crust: Pulse the flour, granulated sugar and salt in a food processor. Add 1 stick cut-up butter and the shortening; pulse until it looks like coarse meal. Add the remaining 1 stick butter; pulse until it is in pea-size pieces. Add the egg yolk and 6 tablespoons ice water and pulse until the dough begins to clump together, adding up to 2 more tablespoons ice water if necessary. Turn out the dough onto a clean surface, divide in half and press into 2 disks. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours or overnight.
• Meanwhile, make the filling: Combine the cherries, granulated sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest and juice and almond extract in a large bowl. Toss until the sugar is dissolved and the cherries are well coated; set aside.
• Roll out one disk of dough into a 12-inch round on a floured surface. Ease into a 9-inch pie plate and trim, leaving a 1-inch overhang. Pour in the filling.
• Roll out the other disk of dough into a 12-inch round. Trim the edges, then cut the dough into 3/4-inch-wide strips using a fluted cutter or a knife. (You should have about 12 strips.) Lay half of the strips over the pie, about 3/4 inch apart. Fold back every other strip. Lay another strip of dough perpendicular to the existing strips, then fold the dough back over the new strip. Repeat, folding back every other strip and weaving in new ones, to form a lattice. Trim the strips, leaving a 1-inch overhang. Fold the overhanging dough (strips and bottom crust) under itself, pressing to seal. Crimp the edges with your fingers or a fork, if desired.
• Brush the lattice and crust edges with the beaten egg and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Refrigerate the pie until firm, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, put a baking sheet on the middle rack of the oven and preheat to 400˚ F.
• Put the pie on the hot baking sheet and reduce the oven temperature to 375˚ F. Bake until the crust is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling, 55 to 65 minutes. (Tent with foil if the crust is browning too quickly.) Transfer to a rack and let cool completely before slicing.

CHOCOLATE-CHERRY LATTICE SLAB PIE

Steps:

• For the filling: Put the cherries, granulated sugar, chocolate, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla and almond extracts and salt in a large bowl. Toss until the cornstarch dissolves. Let stand at room temperature until juicy, about 30 minutes. (If using frozen cherries, leave them frozen and toss them with the above ingredients).
• Adjust an oven rack to the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease the bottom and sides of a 10-by-15-inch baking sheet with butter.
• For the crust: To form the bottom crust, place 1 pie crust between two large pieces of floured parchment paper and roll into a 14-inch round. Lay the round over half of the prepared baking sheet; there will be overhang on the edges. Repeat the rolling process with a second pie crust. Lay it over the remaining exposed side of the baking sheet so that the two crusts overlap in the center of the pan; there will be overhang on the edges. Press together the overlapping crusts to make a tight seal. Transfer the filling to the crust and spread in an even layer. Dot the top with the butter.
• For the lattice crust: Repeat rolling the remaining 2 pie crusts into two 14-inch rounds. With a chef's knife or a pizza cutter, cut each crust into 1-inch-wide strips. Lay half the strips diagonally across the entire pie, about 1-inch apart. Weave the remaining strips diagonally across the first strips to make a lattice pattern. Trim the the lattice ends leaving an overhang, Press together the ends and the bottom edge of the crust to seal, then fold and crimp the edge as desired.
• Brush the lattice and edge of the crust with the cream and sprinkle generously with some granulated sugar. Bake until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly, 45 to 55 minutes. (If the crust browns too quickly during baking, cover the pie loosely with foil.) Let cool.
• For the topping: Meanwhile, whip the cream, sour cream and brown sugar in a large bowl to medium peaks. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
• Serve the pie warm or at room temperature with dollops of the whipped topping.

APPLE AND DRIED-CHERRY LATTICE PIE

Steps:

• Make filling:
• Peel, halve, and core apples and cut into 1/4-inch slices. In a large bowl toss apples with granulated sugar, dried cherries, dried cranberries, or raisins, lemon juice, cinnamon, and 2 tablespoons flour. In a small bowl mix together with fingertips brown sugar, butter, and remaining 2 tablespoons flour.
• Make pastry dough:
• In a large bowl stir together flour and salt. With a pastry blender or fingertips blend in shortening, blending until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing to incorporate until mixture forms a dough. On a work surface smear dough in several forward motions with heel of hand to develop the gluten in flour and make dough easier to work with. Scrape dough together to form a ball and halve, flattening halves to 1-inch-thick disks. Wrap 1 disk in plastic wrap and reserve. Roll other disk into an 11-inch round and fit into a 9-inch pie plate (1-quart capacity), leaving 3/4-inch overhang. Spoon apple mixture into pastry and top with brown sugar mixture. Cover filling loosely with plastic wrap.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Halve reserved dough. On a lightly floured surface roll 1 half into a very thin 11-inch round and with a fluted pastry wheel cut round into 1 3/4-inch-wide strips. Repeat procedure with remaining dough.
• Weave dough strips in a closed lattice pattern over pie and trim lattice edges flush with rim of pie plate. Roll overhanging dough from bottom pastry up over edge of lattice top and crimp decoratively. Brush lattice top with milk and sprinkle with sugar.
• Put sheet of foil on lower rack of oven. Bake pie in middle of oven 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until top is golden and filling is bubbling. Cool pie on rack and serve warm or at room temperature.

CHERRY PIE WITH LATTICE TOP

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, combine cherry pie filling, mixed berries and kirsch. Set aside.
• Gently unfold bottom crust onto floured pie dish. Pour berry filling into unbaked crust. Using a pie pan as a guide, cut a circle for the top crust from a sheet of pie crust. Use a lattice cutter to create a pattern, and generously flour each piece so that pieces of lattice do not stick. Top pie with lattice strips and flute the edge of the pie with a fork. Brush top crust with beaten egg and sprinkle lightly with sugar. Bake for 40 minutes, or until bubbling appears in the middle of pie. Cover pie with aluminum foil halfway through baking. Let sit for 20 minutes before serving.

LATTICE CRUST APPLE PIE

Steps:

• To make the dough by hand: Whisk together the flour, sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Using your fingers, work the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles yellow cornmeal mixed with bean-size bits of butter. (If the flour/butter mixture gets warm, refrigerate it for 10 minutes before proceeding.) Add the egg and stir the dough together with a fork or by hand in the bowl. If the dough is dry, sprinkle up to a tablespoon more of cold water over the mixture.
• To make the dough in a food processor: Pulse the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor fitted with the metal blade until combined. Add the butter and pulse until it resembles yellow cornmeal mixed with bean-size bits of butter, about 10 times. Add the egg and pulse 1 to 2 times; don't let the dough form into a ball in the machine. (If the dough is very dry, add up to a tablespoon more of cold water.) Remove the bowl from the machine, remove the blade and bring the dough together by hand.
• Form the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 1 hour.
• For the filling: Put the lemon juice in a medium bowl. Peel, halve and core the apples. Cut each half into 4 wedges. Toss the apple with the lemon juice. Add the sugar and toss to combine evenly.
• Melt the butter over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add the apples and cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture begins to simmer, about 2 minutes. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the apples soften and release most of their juices, about 7 minutes.
• Strain the apples in a colander over a medium bowl to catch all the juice. Shake the colander to get as much liquid as possible. Return the juices to the skillet, and simmer over medium heat until thickened and lightly caramelized, about 10 minutes.
• Toss the apples with the reduced juice and spices in a medium bowl. Set aside to cool completely. (This filling can be made up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated or frozen for up to 6 months.)
• To assemble the pie: Cut the dough in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll each half into a disc 11 to 12 inches wide. Layer the dough between pieces of parchment or wax paper on a baking sheet and refrigerate for at least 10 minutes.
• Place a baking sheet on a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Line the bottom of a 9-inch pie pan with one of the discs of dough, and trim it so it lays about 1/2 inch beyond the edge of the pan. Add the apple filling to the pan.
• Use a chef's knife or a pizza cutter and cut the second round into 1/2-inch thick strips. Lay strips of dough, evenly spaced, across the entire pie. Weave more strips of dough perpendicular through the previous strips to make a lattice or basket weave design across the entire pie. Trim the excess ends from the strips of dough. Pinch the bottom crust edge and lattice edge together, and flute the edge as desired. Brush the surface of the dough with egg and then sprinkle with sugar. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• Bake the pie on the preheated baking sheet until the crust is golden, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool on a rack for at least 3 hours before serving. The pie keeps well at room temperature (covered) for 24 hours, or refrigerated for up to 4 days.