Sour Cherry Pie

One of my husband’s favorite desserts is Sour Cherry Pie.  If you’ve never had them, they are tart but still a little sweet, but not nearly as sweet as regular cherries but not as tart as rhubarb per se. The good news is it’s an easy pie to make (as are most fruit pies).  The bad news is sour cherries are only in season, in our area for two weeks a year, so when I see them at our local farmer’s market, I buy a large amount.  It’s tedious to clean and pit them but it’s worth it as I usually make a pie and then freeze the rest for a future dessert.  My husband is partial to a double crusted pie but any dessert you would use other stone fruit for, ie. Crumble, hand pies, etc. would work with sour cherries.  They are smaller than regular cherries so you will need to adjust the amount you use.  You’ll need to remove the pits. Since these cherries are especially delicate, I use a plastic straw and gently push the pit out where the stem was.  Save the juice though – it’s great in prosecco for a special cocktail.

Ingredients

2 lbs.                   Sour cherries, pitted

1 cup                   Sugar

1/2 tsp                Lemon zest

1/3 cup               Flour

1                           Egg with a splash of water for an egg wash

1                           Double pie crust (You can use refrigerator dough or make your own.

I make a standard butter and shortening dough which works great.)

Directions

Let the dough come to room temperature and then roll both out to about an inch larger than your pie dish.  Place one in your pie dish and refrigerate both for about 30 minutes to firm up.

Preheat the oven to 375.

In a bowl, combine the cherries, sugar, lemon and flour. Be careful not to add the juice from the pitted cherries. Once you combine the cherries and sugar mixture there will be plenty.

Remove the pie plate/dough from the refrigerator and fill with the cherry mixture.  Spread the cherries evenly.

Brush the edges with the egg wash and then top with the other rolled-out dough.  I take a paring knife and trim the excess dough before crimping with a form.  You can fold the extra under as well, or do another design if you like.

Brush the top with the egg wash and make a few slits in the top to let the steam escape while it bakes.    

Bake, rotating the pan once, till the pie is golden brown and the filling is bubbling, about 45 minutes depending on your oven.  Let sit for at least 4 hours before serving.