Autumn Cherry Pie

As far as the reactions from my friends and family, there seems to be nothing better than a fruit pie in the fall season. Maybe it's the sweet and spicy smells emitting from the oven that compliment the crispness in the autumn air, or the thought that the last bits of summer semblances are being baked between a buttery crust... whatever the reason, when a pie is baking it seems that everyone emigrates to the kitchen to see what's happening.

So when my father was persistent in asking me to bake him a cherry pie last week how could I refuse? Honestly, this was my first cherry pie, ever, and since September I had been baking apple pies (close to ten apple pies...), so I appreciated the change of fruit filling. I did cheat a little by combining my homemade filling with a can of cherry pie filling (I ran out of cherries to make a full pie!) but the overall results were absolutely delicious and a smash hit.

As a side note, I realized that the crust needs to be a little heartier for berry and stone fruit pies than for apple pie fillings because the berry fillings tend to create more juice. Also, cooking the fruit in a high-edged skillet with a couple tablespoons of cornstarch will thicken the filling, keeping the crust from undercooking and from remaining doughy. The cooking of the berries also helps when using frozen fruits, which make a very juicy pie filling when not cooked down...

If you'd like to break out the food processor and make your own pie crust, which I highly recommend, I included a recipe for a buttery pie crust in my second post. Remember that you can make the dough up to 2 days in advance... makes for a lot less stress... Good luck and have fun!


Autumn Cherry Pie

Ingredients
1 jar morello cherries (or 2 jars if not adding a 21oz can of cherry pie filling)
1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar
about 2-3 T cornstarch
a pinch of ground cloves
1/2 to 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Tools
Wooden spoon or spatula
10-inch frying skillet
measuring cup small bowl
measuring spoons and cups


Directions for filling:

1. Drain jar of cherries reserving juice in a measuring cup or bowl on the side for later use.

2. Pour cherries into the skillet on medium-low heat with about half of the reserved cherry juice, and sugar. Before you begin to thicken the cherry mixture taste it to see if you need to add more sugar.

3. While cherries simmer, whisk or mix the 2 tablespoons cornstarch into 1/8 cup of the cherry juice. Then stir the mixture into the cherries. Let the cherries come to a gentle boil while occasionally stirring. If the mixture doesn't thicken, make and add more of the cornstarch mixture to the cherries. By thicken I mean coat the back of your stirring utensil... also, at this step add the canned cherry pie filling... it could take between 15-20 minutes for this to happen.

4. When the cherry pie filling is thick enough that you can run your wooden spoon through it and it separates, add the cinnamon and cloves, give it a good stir, and pull it off the heat to cool while preparing your pie crust. (Now's probably a good time to preheat your oven to 400 degrees). Make sure your pie crust (top and bottom) has chilled for at least 30 minutes before adding the cooled cherry filling. *Note: If you want a shiny pie, brush an egg wash onto the pie before baking... 1 egg with a little milk mixed in...

5. After assembling the pie, cut some vents using a knife (or an apple corer), place in the preheated oven, with a baking pan underneath it on the lower rack, and bake for 20 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake another 45 minutes or until the crust looks golden brown. *Another note: I like using clear pie plates so I can see the bottom crust while it cooks. When the pie looks done remove it from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Serve and enjoy!