Mr. Washington's Cherry Pie
Ingredients
- one prepared double pie crust or your favorite recipe
- 5 to 6 cups (1125g to 1350g) sour cherries, packed in water or individually quick frozen
- 3/4 cup (149g) granulated sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon, optional
- 1/4 cup (43g) quick-cooking tapioca or 1/2 cup (99g) king arthur pie filling enhancer
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions
Divide the dough into two pieces, making one chunk slightly larger. Roll the larger piece of dough into a 13" circle. Transfer the circle to a 9" pie pan.
Drain the cans of cherries, reserving 2/3 cup of water from one of them. Place the cherries and reserved liquid in a large mixing bowl. For frozen cherries, just place in a bowl as is.
Combine the sugar, cinnamon, and tapioca or Pie Filling Enhancer. Stir this into the cherries until everything is evenly combined.
Stir in the almond extract and salt. If you're using tapioca or frozen cherries, let the filling sit for 20 minutes before using it to fill the pie shell.
By Susan Reid
Spoon the filling into the pastry-lined pan, and dot with butter.
Roll out the second crust and place it on top of the filling. Cut a design (two cherries? a hatchet?) into the top to vent steam, and squeeze/seal the top and bottom crusts together, fluting with your fingers or a fork. You may also choose to make a woven lattice crust.
Place the pie on a parchment-lined (to catch any spills) baking sheet, and bake in a preheated 425°F oven for 40 to 45 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling.
Remove the pie from the oven, and cool it on a rack before slicing, so the filling can set.
Flour, cornstarch, tapioca, ClearJel… how much thickener should you use? For a practical look at all the options, see our Fruit Pie Thickeners Guide.
Let King Arthur's pastry pros show you how to bake your best pie ever: from flaky crust to perfect filling, we can help! Check out our Pie Baking Guide now.
Why is there such a range in volume for fruit pie filling from one recipe to the next? Some recipe writers simply like more fruit in their pie. And some fruits (think raspberries) shrink more than others (e.g., apples) during baking, so you need to start with greater volume to yield an amply-filled pie.