Most of my pies turn out ok, however, I’ve never had much luck with cherry pies. I don’t know how many bad cherry pies I've made over the years, (lets just say a lot). Either they had too much thickener (and the pie tasted starchy and looked cloudy) or the pie filling turned out soupy (not enough thickener). Well, that was before I discovered tapioca as a pie thickener for my cherry pies. Don’t worry, you will NOT taste or see the tapioca; it just gives you a delicious bright red, non-starchy, non-soupy, cherry pie! This no-roll pie crust is flaky, tender, delicious and surprisingly easy. It makes (1) 2 crust pie or (2) single pie shells. The recipe calls for the dough to be pressed into a 9” pie pan, but I ended up rolling it like a regular pie dough. It is easier to tear than a regular pie dough, but it isn’t a problem since you just pinch the tears shut. This is an excellent pie crust for pies that require only a bottom crust, like pumpkin, pecan or cream pies.
STEP ONE - CRUST
In large electric mixer bowl, mix 2 cups flour (spoon into cup and level off), 1 cup butter flavored Crisco, 2 teaspoons sugar and ½ teaspoon of salt. Mix until crumbly. While mixer is running, add ¼ cup ice water, 2 tablespoons of beaten egg and 1 ½ teaspoons white vinegar. Beat until dough forms a ball. Cut dough ball in half and pat half of dough into a 9” pie pan. Add filling and top with other half of dough.
STEP TWO - CHERRY FILLING
(2) 14 ounce cans of tart pie cherries (packed in water) and drained
1 ¼ cups white sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
¼ teaspoon almond extract (it really boosts the cherry taste)
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons of quick cooking tapioca
Mix DRAINED cherries, tapioca, sugar, lemon juice and extract in a bowl and let it stand for 15 minutes. Pour filling into pie crust and cover with top crust. Pinch edges shut and brush top crust surface with a little beaten egg white and dust with granulated sugar. Cut vent holes in top of crust. Bake in PREHEATED 450° oven for 10 minutes, then change dial to 350° and bake another 45 minutes. Cool on rack.
NOTE: Put a cookie sheet under your pie pan in case your filling tries to bubble over. It shouldn’t, but it will save you a lot of oven clean up just in case.
STEP ONE - CRUST
In large electric mixer bowl, mix 2 cups flour (spoon into cup and level off), 1 cup butter flavored Crisco, 2 teaspoons sugar and ½ teaspoon of salt. Mix until crumbly. While mixer is running, add ¼ cup ice water, 2 tablespoons of beaten egg and 1 ½ teaspoons white vinegar. Beat until dough forms a ball. Cut dough ball in half and pat half of dough into a 9” pie pan. Add filling and top with other half of dough.
STEP TWO - CHERRY FILLING
(2) 14 ounce cans of tart pie cherries (packed in water) and drained
1 ¼ cups white sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
¼ teaspoon almond extract (it really boosts the cherry taste)
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons of quick cooking tapioca
Mix DRAINED cherries, tapioca, sugar, lemon juice and extract in a bowl and let it stand for 15 minutes. Pour filling into pie crust and cover with top crust. Pinch edges shut and brush top crust surface with a little beaten egg white and dust with granulated sugar. Cut vent holes in top of crust. Bake in PREHEATED 450° oven for 10 minutes, then change dial to 350° and bake another 45 minutes. Cool on rack.
NOTE: Put a cookie sheet under your pie pan in case your filling tries to bubble over. It shouldn’t, but it will save you a lot of oven clean up just in case.
NOTE: CHERRY CRISP TOPPING (instead of top crust)
Mix 2/3 cup brown sugar + 1/2 cup flour + 1/2 cup oats + 1/2 tsp cinnamon + 1/3 cup soft butter. Mix it all together and sprinkle over pie filling. Same baking directions as above.
NOTE: You can also roll out the top crust and then use a cookie cutter or biscuit cutter and cut out shapes and arrange them in a design on top of the fruit before baking.
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