New and Improved Cherry Pie Recipe

I was never happy with my original cherry pie recipe.  The cherries did not cook down enough for me- and you can still see the cherry shaped lumps through the pie crust.  I decided to modify the recipe.  I precooked the cherry filling so they would be more like a compote but with nice pieces of cherry to chew on as well, and I added some vanilla bean paste along with some kirch, instead of using almond extract.  The sugar crusted lattice crust was the key to adding a lightness to the pie that was to die for.

The results were fantastic!

You MUST make this pie before cherry season ends.  It is a sweet Bing cherry pie and it was gone in two nights in my house.

Here is my new and improved cherry pie recipe:

Cherry Pie Filling

2 Tbsp Kirsch

2 Tbsp Lemon Juice

4 Tbsp Corn Starch

3 lbs pitted, halved bing cherries

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup splenda

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1. mix all ingredients but the cherries and dissolve all of the cornstarch.

2. pour wet ingredients on the cherries.

3. Pour cherry mixture into a saucepan and heat on medium  high until bubbling.  

4. Reduce heat to low and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often.

5. Cool cherry filling before placing in pie or your top crust will be too soft to lattice.

Pie Crust

1 medium egg, beaten

Course sugar crystals

Shortening or butter to limit sticking

Use your favorite crust recipe, or do what I do and buy Trader Joe's frozen pie crust- people will assume you made it yourself!  If using a frozen crust, remember to leave it on the counter for 1.5 hours to defrost before use.

Pie Assembly

1. Rub shortening or butter all over 9 inch pie plate.

2. Put one layer of pie dough in pie plate and trim edges with kitchen shears, leaving about 1 inch overhanging.

3. Pour cooled cherry pie filling on top of the pie dough.

4. Cut strips of the pie dough and layer to create lattice crust.  

5.  Brush with egg wash (one beaten egg and a Tbsp lukewarm water).

6. Sprinkle generously with course sugar crystals.

7. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 1 hour.

8. 30 minutes into baking, cover crust edges with a pie shield or you can use aluminum foil.  Make sure to brush some butter or shortening on the shield first so it won't stick to the crust while baking.

9. Remove pie after an hour of baking or when the pie crust is golden and the filling is bubbling.

10. Cool and let pie solidify for at least an hour or two before cutting, or the filling will not stay in the pie slice.

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Orange Julius in the Summertime

My favorite Summertime drink- the Orange Julius, aka creamsicle in a glass.  According to Wikipedia:

The drink grew out of an orange juice stand opened in Los Angeles in 1926 by Julius Freed. Sales were initially modest, about $20 a day (about $245 in 2010 dollars, adjusting for inflation). In 1929, Bill Hamlin, Freed's real estate broker, developed a mixture that made the acidic orange juice less bothersome to his stomach. Freed's stand began serving the drink, which had a frothier, creamier texture. The sales at the stand increased substantially after the introduction of the new drink, going up to $100 a day. People began lining up at the store and shouting, "Give me an Orange, Julius!" Eventually, the new drink would simply be called "the Orange Julius".

Little known fact:  The Orange Julius was named the official drink of the 1964 New York World's Fair.

It's so simple to make your own frothy creamsicle drink at home.

Orange Julius

Ingredients:

12 oz. frozen orange juice concentrate

2 cups water

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup Splenda

1 cup milk

1 cup vanilla yogurt

16 ice cubes

1/4 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

Directions:

Get your blender ready. All the ingredients are going to go straight in to the blender rather than in to a mixing bowl so get your blender ready first.

Add frozen orange juice concentrate, vanilla bean paste, sugar, splenda, milk, and water to your blender and blend for about 30 seconds.

Add ice to blender and blend for a minute or until ice is fully crushed and drink is smooth.

Pour the orange julius from the blender in to a tall drinking glass. Add an optional straw and whatever embellishments you desire (perhaps a candied orange peel) and serve.

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Cherrylicious- Updated!

*****Update- there has been a new and improved cherry pie recipe posted here.*****

I've been dying to make a cherry pie.  Everytime I walk into the supermarket I am greeted with beautiful ruby red Bing cherries, and oooh they are so sweet and tasty, I figure they must make a great pie.  However everytime I google for a good cherry pie recipe, they require tart "pie cherries" which makes it hard to get the sugar proportions right for Bing sweet cherries.  Well this weekend I figured, to hell with proportions, I am going to wing it and make me a cherry pie.  I used this recipe from the Joy of Baking, but modified it a bit.  I reduced the amount of sugar to 1/2 cup since the cherries are the sweet Bing variety.  I also used an egg wash instead of cream to coat the top of the crust for browning.   (I've never tried using milk to coat a pie crust.  It might work as well as egg wash, but I've always used egg wash and if it ain't broke...)  Lastly, I am proud to say I used a frozen pie crust.  More about Trader Joe's later.

I took pictures every step of the way, and alas here is a pictorial:

First we must remove the pits in the cherries.  This held me back for about a year, as the thought of a red splattery mess on my white walls made me run from the cherry section of the produce aisle each and every time I considered this endeavor.  Then one day I came across this beauty:

Bed Bath and Beyond is a dangerous place my blog reading friends.  There are way too many goodies to resist leaving without at least one of them.  This was the result of a stress-inducing day a few months ago, and it definitely was worth every penny.

This cherry pitter can remove the pits of up to four cherries at a time.  There are two sets of four impressions to place cherries, one set for large and one for small cherries.  The pits drop into the bottom of the pitter and you can easily discard them as you remove pits.

There was no blood red splatter on my white walls after all, and no pits to be found in the final product.  Overall this $15 item was all it was hyped up to be and more. 


Once you have all of your cherries sans pits, approx 4 cups, put them in a bowl and add the following:

• 1/2 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar, or as needed
• 2 1/2 tablespoons (30 grams) quick cooking tapioca
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon Kirsch or 1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract (optional)

Let the cherries sit for approx 15 minutes to let the tapioca dissolve and soften.  Let me digress for a moment and talk a bit about the tapioca vs. corn starch debate.  In my personal experience, I have noticed no difference between the two.  I usually use minute tapioca and I don't pre-grind or anything.  I have read that corn starch doesn't thicken in high acid content foods, so in this case I went with minute tapioca and it worked like a charm, no grittiness and it was perfectly thick.  Do as you see fit in your own pies.




Now for the pie crust.  I use frozen pie crust because Trader Joe's sells an amazingly just-like-homeade frozen crust and I just can't resist the ease of using it.

I leave the pie crusts out on the counter for approximately 2 hours, flipping them over after one hour to make sure they evenly defrost, and the crust is perfect every time.  People often ask me in amazement if I made my own crust and I love sharing with them the fact that it is from Trader Joe's because that store is so amazing that everyone who is lucky enough to have one nearby should go and support them.  Their food standards are supreme and I want them to grow and grow.

Once the crust is defrosted, you must place in a pie dish.  I use a Farberware glass 9 inch pie plate.  It is deep but not hugely so.  I sometimes grease the plate with Pam spray but mostly I forget and curse myself later. 

Gently lay your pie crust over the pie plate and carefully ease it down to form the bottom crust.  It is perfectly fine if the crust cracks and you need to patch it back together, so be easy on yourself!  As you bake more pies, the technique gets easier. 

Once the crust is in place, take poultry shears and trim the excess around the pie plate, leaving about 1/8" hanging off the edge of the plate.  This will be used to seal and flute the edges later.

Now the cherries are ready to be put in the crust.  Pour the cherries in, making sure to distribute as evenly as you can.  I usually like my pies to be jammed full of fruit, so I like my fruit to mount up about an inch higher than the height of the pie plate.

Now place the two tablespoons of unsalted butter, sliced into four pieces, on the top of the cherries.

Now you are ready to place the top crust on the pie.  Take your egg wash (one whole egg, scrambled, and about a tablespoon of cool water mixed in) and brush some around the edge of the pie crust.  This will make the bottom and top crust stick together nicely.

Sealing the pie crusts together

Place the top crust gently on the pie, patching any cracks as needed.  Trim the excess off the side, leaving about an 1/8" again for sealing and fluting.  Gently fold the top excess under the bottom excess, working your way around the entire pie.

Now it's time to make the pie purdy.  To get that rippled effect along the outside edge of the pie, called Fluting, put your index finder on your right hand under the now sealed edge of the crust.  Take the index and thumb of your left hand and gently push down on either side of the crust around your right hand's index finger. This will make the first bump in the fluting pattern.  Go around the entire pie making the distance between flutes as even as you can.  Perfection is overated, so again, enjoy yourself and don't go nuts.

This is what it will look like when finished.  Now take the rest of the egg wash and brush it over the entire pie crust.  I usually only end up using half of the egg wash from one egg.  It isn't necessary to saturate the crust, just a light layer to allow the top to get shiny golden brown.

The Joy of Baking recipe has you use cream but I use egg wash.  Experiment and see which you prefer.  You can shake some granulated sugar over the top at this point if you want that crunchy twist to the pie.  I usually don't like the effect so I omit this step.






It is necessary to vent the steam that will build up as the fruit juices cook and are released inside the pie.  I like to cut six slits in the middle of the pie.  If you are making a lattice top there is no need to cut vents.

 Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.  Place the pie on a cookie sheet that is lined with parchment paper.  (Note: Don't use tin foil.  In my experience it ends up sticking to the bottom of the pie plate after cooking and makes a mess.  Parchment paper is mess-free.)  The cookie sheet catches any spills the fruit juices might make on the bottom of the oven.

Place either some greased tin foil or some sort of pie crust protector that is greased along the outside edge of the pie crust for the first 30 minutes.  This prevents the pie crust from burning since it cooks faster than the rest of the pie.  I bought a cheap aluminum one at Bed Bath and Beyond, and I spray a bit of Pam on it before placing it on the pie.  It works like a charm.

Place the pie (which is on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet) in the oven and cook at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes.  Then reduce the oven to 350 degrees F and cook for another 35 minutes or until the juices are bubbling through the crust and the crust is golden brown.

Congratulations, you have just made yourself a mighty tasty bing cherry pie!

P.S. The crab cakes were a bust.  I am on a quest to find a good crab cake recipe, but the price of good jumbo lump crab is outrageous so it will take some time to perfect since I need to spread out my trials over months.

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