Cherry Pies

I served this as the finale to our Father's Day feast! Admittedly, I am not a pie baker. Something about working with pie crust scares me. I love making tarts. Same concept I know, but somehow I have better luck. I grew up in a family of cake bakers so I never really had any experience making homemade pies. When my husband said he would like a pie for dessert on Father's Day I wanted to find a really great one to make him. After looking at several pie recipes, I settled on one from Baking at Home with the Culinary Institute of America. I had major crust issues and performed many miracles on this crust. I was delighted when I remembered the small pie kit my Mother-in-Law gave me and was able to use the min-star cutter to cover a multitude of sins! I think the end result was a pretty nice looking pie. The crust was tender and flaky and the filling had just the right sweetness. The pie was a huge hit. We didn't have any left. I liked the crust for this, but I think I will stick with my ATK recipe for now. Something about adding a little vodka to the dough really does great things for the crust and that recipe is much easier to work with.

Cherry Pie Filling
Recipe Source: Baking at Home with the CIA

2 tbsp tapioca pearls
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 pound fresh, thawed frozen, jarred or canned sour cherries, juice reserved
if using jarred or canned
1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tbsp unsalted butter

To make the filling, blend the tapioca and cornstarch with about 1/4 cup water. (Add just enough water for a a thick soupy consistency). Set aside.

Stir together the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a saucepan. Add 1 cup reserved cherry juice or water and the lemon juice. bring to a boil over high heat. Gradually ad the tapioca mixture while whisking constantly, and return to a boil. Add the cherries and simmer for another minute. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter. Transfer the filling to the refrigerator until completely chilled, about 30 minutes; stir the filling occasionally to cool more quickly.