Just a Bowl of Cherries!

A Maine House Mosaic

A Simple Cherry Pie

CRUST

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cups shortening

5 1/2 tablespoons ice-cold water

FILLING

1 can pitted sour cherries

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

Lemon juice

2 tablespoons butter

Crust: Put flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Cut in shortening using a pastry blender or fork. Add water and mix lightly with a fork. Roll half of dough on a well-floured surface. Place in 9-inch pie pan.

Filling: In a large bowl, mix cherries, sugar and cornstarch. Place mixture on top of crust in pie pan. Squeeze a little lemon juice over cherry mixture and dot with butter.

Roll out other half of dough and place over filling. Crimp edges together. Cut slits in top to allow steam to escape. Brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake 15 minutes at 425 degrees. Reduce heat to 375 and bake 45 minutes. Cover edges with aluminum foil if it browns too much.

CHERRY CHERRY BERRY PIE

Crust:

1 ½ cups of flour

¼ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

½ cup Crisco shortening

Mix all ingredients in a stand mixer on medium speed swiftly until crust appears “pea like.” Carefully sprinkle ice cold water in crust mix until it just starts to be fully moistened and gathers together. Pat into disc, wrap and refrigerate for at least one half hour. Roll out on floured surface and make and crimp pie crust. Freeze until ready to use.

Filling:

4 ½ cups Montmorency tart cherries –frozen

1 cup sugar

¼ cup cornstarch

½ tsp real almond extract

1 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

½ tsp orange zest

½ cup dried Michigan cherries

1 ½ cups of frozen blueberries

Combine frozen cherries, dried cherries, sugar, cornstarch. Stir constantly on med-hi heat until boiling. Add blueberries. Boil for one minute or until thickened. Add almond extract, lemon juice and zest. Pour blueberries in bottom of pie shell and pour cherry mixture over them.

Crumb Topping:

1 cup sugar

1 cup all purpose flour

¼ tsp salt

1 stick butter softened

Mix together all crumb topping ingredients by hand or a pastry blender until crumbly.

Cover filling with crumb topping. Bake in preheated 400 degree oven for 45 minutes to one hour or until filling is bubbling over crust.

"Life is just a bowl of cherries, so live and laugh at it all!"