Cherry pie has to be one of my more favorite summer indulgences.
Because I really focus on eating in a way that’s good for me and good for the environment, I love getting produce from friends or family who might have fruit trees or vegetable gardens (or I’m trying to grow my own too–more on that later). When I was little, my grandparents had a neighbor who had a cherry tree. I loved getting those cherries, but unfortunately they were difficult to come by as the birds loved getting them too. These days, I know people with peach trees, pear trees, and apple trees; but no cherries. So the next best thing for me is to try and stick to buying organics and locals. The Biff (my dog’s best friend) and I have recently started getting a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) box every week. (He’s trying to get me to eat more veggies–seems to be working!)
When you eat seasonally, there is often an over-abundance of certain crops in certain months of the year. In the middle of the summer, the organic cherries at Costco and Whole Foods are often sold by the multiple pounds, and the best way to use them up before they go bad is by putting them in a pie.
Other than apple (and let’s be honest, cherry is better), I really don’t think there’s anything more American than old fashioned Cherry Pie, and it helps that cherries are in major season around the 4th of July. As such, Cherry Pie is almost always on my 4th of July menu.
While most people use pie cherries to make pie (who knew), I actually love Bing Cherries in my pie. They are sweeter than pie cherries, but I just adjust the recipe a bit by reducing the sugar and increasing the lemon juice, to balance the flavor of the sweeter cherries.
Below is a classic Old Fashioned Cherry Pie recipe to be made with Bing Cherries, fresh from the heat of Summer! The crust, as per my food intolerances, is Gluten Free and available on the Cup4Cup Flour website. It’s absolutely the best GF pie crust recipe I have found yet, and would be great on sweet or savory pies.
Pro Tip: Gluten free crust can be a bit sticky to roll out, so I use a plastic zipper round that holds the crust when it’s being rolled out. It prevents the crust from ripping due to sticking to the cutting board or counter.
Crust:
- 3 Cups Cup4Cup Flour
- 2 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Cup Butter
- 1 Large Egg
- 1/2 Cup Buttermilk
Cube Butter. Add all dry ingredients into a food processor and pulse to combine. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal.
Combine egg and buttermilk in small bowl with a fork. Pour into a well created in the flour mixture.
Mix dough until it forms a ball.
Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Divide in half and roll out.
Filling:
- 5 Cups Pitted Cherries
- 3/4 Cup Sugar
- 3 – 3 1/2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
- 1-2 Tablespoons Lemon juice
- 1/4 Teaspoon Almond Extract
- 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 3 Tablespoons Butter
Mix all ingredients except butter in a bowl until combined.
Fill bottom crust with Cherries. Cut butter over the filling. Cover with second crust in any way you wish (i.e. lattice, cut-outs, or whole, so long as you put some air vents in it.)
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cover pie crust edges with foil to protect them from scorching. Bake 50 minutes. Remove foil. Bake 15-20 more minutes until top of pie is golden brown. Remove and cool for at least an hour before serving.
Happy Cooking!
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