Old Fashioned Cherry Pie Food

CHERRY PIE INSPIRED BY AN "OLD FASHIONED" COCKTAIL (SOUR CHERRIES STEWED WITH RAW SUGAR, BOURBON AND ORANGE BITTERS)

Steps:

• For the cherry filling: Combine the cherries, sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan, combine the cherries with sugar and lemon juice. Sprinkle with the tapioca and simmer for 5 minutes. Pour into a large bowl and stir in the bourbon, almond extract and orange bitters. Let cool and refrigerate for about 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and place the oven rack in the lower third of the oven. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces. Roll each dough piece on a lightly-floured surface into a 12-inch disk. Gently place one disk into a 9-inch pie pan, bringing it up the sides. Make a few incisions in the middle of the remaining crust. Pour the cherry filling into the prepared pie shell. Lightly brush the border of the pie shell with water, and top with the second piecrust. Tightly seal the dough by pressing the edge with a fork or your fingers. Create some decorative touches with the scrap dough if desired to decorate the pie. Lightly brush the pastry shell with the cream and sprinkle with a little sugar. Place the pie on a larger baking sheet lined with parchment paper to catch any spills. Bake the pie until the crust is a deep golden brown color and the cherry juices are starting to bubble, 35 to 45 minutes. Let cool, and then serve with softly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

CHERRY BRANDY OLD-FASHIONED

Steps:

• Muddle 8 thawed frozen cherries, 8 dashes each angostura and orange bitters, the juice of 1 orange and 3 tablespoons sugar in a liquid measuring cup. Add 1 cup brandy. Divide among 4 ice-filled glasses; stir and garnish with orange twists.

BAKED FRESH CHERRY PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Place bottom crust in pie pan. Set top crust aside, covered.
• In a large mixing bowl combine tapioca, salt, sugar, cherries, and extracts. Let stand 15 minutes. Turn out into bottom crust and dot with butter. Cover with top crust, flute edges and cut vents in top. Place pie on a foil-lined cookie sheet--in case of drips!
• Bake for 50 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Let cool for several hours before slicing.

MICHIGAN CHERRY PIE

Steps:

• On a lightly floured surface, roll pie dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; transfer to a 9-in. pie plate. Trim crust to 1/2 in. beyond rim of plate; flute edge. Refrigerate 30 minutes. , Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375°. In a large bowl, toss tart and dried cherries with lemon juice, lemon zest and almond extract. In a small bowl, mix sugar and cornstarch; add to cherry mixture and toss to coat. In a small bowl, mix topping ingredients until crumbly. Transfer cherry filling to crust; sprinkle topping over filling. , Bake on a lower oven rack 45-55 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool on a wire rack. If desired, serve with ice cream.

CLASSIC CHERRY PIE

Steps:

• Make pastry: Place flour, salt, butter, and shortening in food processor and process just until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Or mix flour and salt in mixing bowl and cut int butter and shortening with pastry blender. Sprinkle about 5 T. water over flour mixture; process or mix with fork until dough comes together, adding remaining water as needed. Divide dough into 2 pieces, one twice as big as the other. Refrigerate both pieces wrapped in plastic wrap at least 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile make filling: Mix sugar and cornstarch in large bowl. Add cherries, vanilla and almond extracts, and pinch salt; stir to combine. Let stand, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes.
• Heat oven to 425 degrees.
• Roll out larger piece of pastry to 14" circle on well-floured surface. Line 9" deep dish pie plate with pastry and trim to a 1" overhang. Mix egg and 1/4 t. salt and brush over bottom and side of pastry. Stir cherries and pour into pastry. Top with butter.
• Roll out remaining dough to 10" circle. Cut into 1/2" strips. Arrange strips in lattice pattern over filling, painting ends with egg glaze to stick to bottom crust. Fold over edges and crisp. Brush rim and lattice with glaze.
• Bake 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake until crust is golden and cherries are tender, 30-40 minutes longer. If edges brown too quickly, cover with strips of aluminum foil.

OLD-FASHIONED CHERRY VANILLA PIE

Steps:

• Make dough:
• Cut butter into pieces. In a bowl with a pastry blender or in a food processor blend or pulse together flour, salt, butter, and shortening until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 5 tablespoons ice water and toss or pulse just until mixture forms a dough, adding additional ice water, a little at a time, if dough is too dry. Divide dough in half and flatten each piece into a disk. Chill dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, at least 30 minutes and up to 3 days.
• Make filling:
• In a small bowl stir together sugar, tapioca, salt, and cinnamon. In a large heavy skillet cook fresh or frozen cherries over moderately high heat, stirring, until slightly softened, about 2 minutes. With a slotted spoon transfer cherries to a heatproof bowl. Add sugar mixture to cherry juices in skillet and simmer, stirring, until thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir cherry sauce and vanilla into cherries and cool.
• Line lower rack of oven with foil and preheat oven to 400° F.
• On a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin roll out 1 piece dough into an 11-inch round (about 1/8 inch thick). Fit dough into a 9-inch (1-quart) pie plate, leaving a 3/4-inch overhang. Pour filling into shell and chill, loosely covered with plastic wrap.
• On a lightly floured surface roll out remaining dough into an 11-inch round (about 1/8 inch thick) and with a sharp knife or fluted pastry wheel cut into 1-inch-wide strips. Working on a sheet of wax paper set on a baking sheet, weave pastry strips in a close lattice pattern. Chill or freeze lattice on wax paper on a flat surface 20 minutes, or until firm. Brush edge of filled shell with cold water and slide lattice off wax paper and onto pie. Let lattice stand 10 minutes to soften. Trim edges flush with rim of pie plate and crimp decoratively. Gently brush lattice top with cold water and sprinkle with sugar.
• Bake pie in middle of oven 45 minutes, or until pastry is golden and filling just begins to bubble, and transfer to a rack to cool slightly. Serve pie warm with ice cream.