Tart Cherry Pie

I think pie is the best dessert of all time. However, I am in a constant battle with pie crust (hence the pasta noodle looking things going over the top of the pie). I feel like for as much as I love baking pies I should be really good with pie crust, but it's just always a struggle. Is it too much to ask for flawless pie crust?! yes. For the pie, I used two pie crusts total. One for the bottom, and the other I stamped into circles to make the crust. Pro tip: If you are like me and struggle with pie crust, just cut it into fun shapes to lay on top of the pie and then call it rustic - people love that. For the filling, I try to keep it very fruit based and not goopy. Goopy pie filling is the worst. I got a few bags of pitted, frozen cherries at the store and let them thaw halfway in a strainer before mixing in the dry ingredients. I like having a little extra moisture in the pie, but if that's not your thing, feel free to let them thaw and drain all the way. For the filling, I combined the cherries, cornstarch, lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar, and vanilla bean paste. Once it was all well combined, I dumped it into the bottom pie shell, and topped with the rest of the pie crust. To get the golden color on the outer ring, I just used a simple egg wash and sprinkled sugar on top. Into the oven it went, and less than an hour later, the bubbling beauty came out of the oven. When the pie came out of the oven, it was so liquidy. Immediately I thought I didn't use enough cornstarch, but after letting it sit overnight, it was good to go. On a perfect day, I would have had this sitting on my porch with some vanilla bean ice cream, but it tasted just as good in the office. Let me know if you make this and how it turns out!

TART CHERRY PIE

Crust:

Dough for two 9-inch pies

(Homemade, store bought roll & go, gluten free –whatever you like)

Filling:

6 cups Pitted Tart Cherries (if frozen, thaw at least half way)

¾ cup Granulated Sugar

¼ cup Cornstarch

Juice from ½ Lemon

Zest from ½ Lemon

1 teaspoon Vanilla Bean Paste
Garnish:

1 Egg

1-Tablespoon Milk

¼ cup Granulated Sugar

Prepare:

1. Combine all of the filling ingredients into a large bowl
2. Stir to fully combine.
3. Let sit for about 15 minutes
4. Take your half of the dough, roll it out to about 12 inches in diameter, and fit into a 9-inch pie dish.
5. Fill with your cherry filling mixture.
6. Take the dough that’s hanging over the edge and fold it back into the pie making a small, pseudo ledge for the discs of dough to sit on.
7. Roll out the half of pie dough and cut into 1-inch circles. I used a cooking cutter, but feel free to use whatever you have around the house like a shot glass or lid to a pop bottle.
8. Place the discs on the ledge of the pie crust, laying each disc about halfway onto the previous disc, going all the way around the edge.
9. Feel free to add whatever crust you want, if you prefer a lattice or fully covered top, feel free to do that.
10. To finish off, whisk the egg and milk together and brush over the exposed pie crust, and then sprinkle with sugar.
11. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling
12. Let sit for at least 3 hours before cutting into it