7.25.2010

baking is beautiful (and a cherry pie!)


My in-laws are here for a few days, and my father-in-law has a thing for cherry pie. So I took it upon myself to make one for the very first time, and might I just say that it is perfect?
Did you know that you can use a complimentary pen to pit cherries? Works like a charm, if you don't have a cherry pitter. Using the non-writing end, of course. Or you can have a peek here and see some other ingenious tricks, like using a pastry bag tip or nail and board combo. There's a use for your empty beer bottles there, too.
The dough recipe I use is here. I used the stand mixer today, and the crust came out a bit better than it does when I blend with a pastry blender. For the filling, I used a pile of cherries, about 5 cups, pitted and halved, 3 tbsp cornstarch, and 1/2 cup sugar. Tuck a couple of pats of butter under the crust before baking, bake at 400 for 20 minutes, then at 350 for 45-50 minutes, or until really, gorgeously golden. Easy as pie! (I couldn't resist.)
Lastly, I felt like farmer Sherrie today in my bare feet, rolled-up jeans and red shirt. Especially when I was picking peas and beans in the garden. I couldn't have been more content.

4 comments:

  1. Great looking cherries and appreciate the tips on pitting them-who knew drinking beer would be the way to start your pie making process? Better make it a Kwartha Lakes Rasberry to keep the fruit theme (Local brew out here-delish!)

    Any more pie in the sky recipes from the East Coast would be appreciated by our baking community http:/facebook.com/redpathsugar

    ReplyDelete
  2. Inventive ways to pit a cherry! The pie looks amazing! Nothing better than a buttery, flaky, pie crust!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I just bought cherries today! Sounds like a great weekend plan to me! Looks delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous8/01/2010

    I love cherry pie and haven't grown enough to make one. Organic cherries are too expensive to buy for pie. :}

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for your comments - I read and appreciate each one! Sorry about the word verification - the spammers found me and it became necessary. Thanks for taking the time to comment!