Do you love having a pie for your holidays?

My family loves them! And since I don’t like pumpkin pie, and I LOVE cherry pie, my mother started a holiday tradition when I was a little girl in which we always have a cherry pie for every holiday now. Now it is expected that this cherry pie make an appearance at every holiday. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family does!

 

Yield: 1 large deep pie and 1 very small pie

Favorite Cherry Pie

Favorite Holiday Cherry Pie

No holiday would ever be complete without my mother's extraordinary cherry pie. My mother lovingly made cherry pies just for me because I despised pumpkin pies. Soon, my mother's cherry pies became the favorite of the family and HAD to be on the dessert buffet, PLUS were devoured before the pumpkin pies. THAT'S how good this cherry pie recipe is!

Prep Time 20 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

Dry ingredients for Pie Dough

  • 4 cups flour
  • 6 Tbsp. sugar
  • 2 tsp. salt
  • 1 3/4 cup shortening

Wet ingredients for Pie DOugh

  • 1 jumbo egg
  • 1 Tbsp. vinegar
  • 1/2 cup water

For the Cherry Pie Filling

  • 5 – 6 cans of thick cherry pie filling, drained of the juice (set aside for another use)
  • 1 - 1/2 cup sugar
  • 4 drops almond extract (a MUST!)

Instructions

Prepare the Pie Dough

  1. Combine all of the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
  2. Using a pastry cutter/blender, mix all the dry ingredients well.
  3. The mixture will look lumpy as you continue to blend the dry ingredients together.
  4. Add the wet ingredients together in a smaller bowl.
  5. Blend the wet ingredients well with a fork or whisk.
  6. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients thoroughly….
  7. Add just a little bit of flour if necessary, but NOT TOO MUCH or the pie dough will be too dry!
  8. Form the pie dough into a nice shaped ball and refrigerate for a minimum of 15 minutes.
  9. After chilling, cut the ball of dough in half. Technically, this is enough to make 2 double-crusted pies……
  10. BUT, for me it is enough to make one double-crusted pie and one single-crusted pie (so 3 crusts).
  11. It all depends on how thin or thick that you like your pie crusts……which we like ours on the thicker side.
  12. Roll out the pie dough on a lightly floured surface (we use a large wooden cutting board).


Prepare the Cherry Pie Filling

  1. Combine in a large mixing bowl combine the cherry pie filling, sugar and almond extract.

Assemble the Cherry Pie

  1. Carefully lift and place the bottom layer of pie dough into a well-greased pie pan.
  2. Pour in the cherry mixture.
  3. Cover the cherries with the top layer of dough.
  4. Crimp and decorate the way you prefer.
  5. Brush the top of the pie with melted butter (about 1-1/2 Tbsp.)
  6. Sprinkle a nice layer of sugar on top of the buttered pie dough.
  7. Bake for 45 - 60 minutes in a 350-degree F oven……constantly keeping an eye on the pie so that the edges of the crust do not burn…..
  8. Half-way through the baking, I crimp aluminum foil around the edges to prevent burning.
  9. Enjoy with a wonderful heaping of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream if you prefer!

 

Using a pastry cutter/blender, mix all the dry ingredients well.
.
 
The mixture will look lumpy as you continue to blend the dry ingredients together.
.

Add the wet ingredients together in a smaller bowl.
.

Blend the wet ingredients well with a fork or whisk.

Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients thoroughly….

add just a little bit of flour if necessary, but NOT TOO MUCH or the pie dough will be too dry!

Form the pie dough into a nice shaped ball and refrigerate for a minimum of 15 minutes.

.
After chilling, cut the ball of dough in half. Technically, this is enough to make 2 double-crusted pies……

BUT, for us it is enough to make one double-crusted pie and one single-crusted pie (so 3 crusts).

It all depends on how thin or thick that you like your pie crusts……which we like ours on the thicker side.


Roll out the pie dough on a lightly floured surface (we use a large wooden cutting board).
.Carefully lift and place the bottom layer of pie dough into a well-greased pie pan.
Pour in the cherry mixture.
.
Cover the cherries with the top layer of dough.
Crimp and decorate the way you prefer.
Brush the top of the pie with melted butter (about 1-1/2 Tbsp.)
.
)
 

Sprinkle a nice layer of sugar on top of the buttered pie dough.


Bake for 30 – 45 minutes in a 350 degree oven……constantly keeping an eye on the pie so that the edges of the crust do not burn…..

about half way through the baking, I crimp aluminum foil around the egdes to prevent burning.

Enjoy with a wonderful heaping of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream if you prefer!


Beautiful sliced piece of yummy cherry pie!


Mangia!

 

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