Makes 1 - 9 inch pie
I love sour cherries in general, but definitely in baking - they are so delicious! Recipe adapted from Nick Malgieri.
1 recipe pie dough
2 pints cherries (pitted and chopped)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
¼ cup orange juice
Zest of 1 orange
2 tablespoons butter
Egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water and a pinch of salt)
Preheat the oven to 375°F
Combine 1 cup of the cherries with the sugar in a saucepan and cook over medium heat, occasionally stirring, until the sugar is dissolved and the cherries soften and begin excluding liquid, about 7 minutes.
Combine the cornstarch and orange juice in a small bowl and whisk into the cherry mixture. Cook, constantly stirring, over medium heat, until the mixture comes to a boil, thickens, and becomes translucent.
Pour into a large bowl and stir in zest and butter. Cool.
Pour filling into the rolled out bottom shell.
Top with cut out shapes of dough.
Brush with egg wash.
Bake in the oven for about 45-50 minutes until the bottom crust is golden.
Pie Dough
In this recipe, I replaced 25% of the flour with stone ground whole wheat flour.
Makes enough for 1 - 9 inch double crust pie
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
½ cup heavy cream
2 eggs, beaten
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour and salt.
Add butter, and use a pastry blender to work the butter until in small pea-size pieces.
Stir in heavy cream and egg until just combined. If the mixture appears dry, add 1 tablespoon of water.
Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces. Flatten the dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic, and refrigerate for about 2 hours.
To roll the dough:
Using as much flour as needed, but not an excess, roll one piece of dough into a 12-inch circle and drape across a 9-inch pie plate.
Dust off excess flour with a pastry brush, using it to press the dough into the corners of the pan gently.
With scissors or kitchen shears, trim the edge of the dough so that it overhangs by 1 1/4 inches all around.
Fold the overhang under itself to create a thick border atop the pan's rim. Crimp or shape crust as desired.
Repeat the rolling with the remaining dough.
Use your favorite cookie cutter to cut out shapes and place on top of the pie filling.