Cherry Pie

When the fabulous dude and I were dating in a semi-long distance relationship, I made him a pie almost every time I saw him. Somewhere along the line, the pies stopped coming so often (bad for his taste buds, good for his waistline). However, since so many people knew how much I love to bake pies and how much he loves to eat them, it seemed somewhat odd that it's taken me this long to post a pie recipe. It's also somewhat odd that the first one I post turns out to be Cherry, seeing as that's his very least favourite. Oh well, cherry pie is better than no pie, right dear?

I make pie the way my mom taught me to do it. I don't think I'll get in trouble for sharing the secret family recipe, because I think you might also be able to find it on the back of the Crisco box. This recipe makes enough for 2-3 double crust pies. I often cut it in half to just make one pie and it works fine.

Pie Crust - Crisco
6 cups cake and pastry flour (or 5 1/2 all purpose - which is what I always use)
2 tsp salt
1 lb lard (you can use shortening if you want but I really don't think it gives the same results)
1 tbsp vinegar
1 egg, lightly beaten
Cold water

Makes 3 double crust pies. If you don't want to make three pies, you can cut the recipe in half or wrap and leftover pastry in waxed paper, place it in an air tight container and freeze for up to three months.

1. Mix flour and salt.

2. Cut in lard until it resembles coarse oatmeal.

3. In a one cup measure, mix vinegar and egg. Bring up to one cup with water. Add to make moist dough. It really depends on the day whether I use the entire amount or not. I think it has to do with the temperature of the room, the dampness of the flour and so on. Just use your judgment. You want your dough to hold together but not be sticky. It's okay if there are clumps of flour in the bowl that don't hold together.

4. At this point, I usually put the pastry in the fridge for 5-10 minutes to firm it up, especially if it's a hot day.

5. Divide dough in six equal portions. Place one portion on a clean, floured surface. Sprinkle dough and rolling pin with flour. Roll dough into a flat circle, turning often.

6. Roll dough onto rolling pin and into pie plate.

7. Add filling and cover with another crust. Seal edges and cut away extra pastry (make sure to make pie crust cookies with the leftovers). Poke holes for air to vent. Bake according to directions for the pie you're making. The directions for how I do cherry pie are below.

Cherry Pie
4 cups pitted sour cherries (fresh or frozen)
1 cup plus some white sugar
4 tbsp cornstarch
Water

1. Add cherries and sugar into a saucepan. Heat over medium until sugar dissolves.

2. Dissolve cornstarch in water.

3. Bring cherries to a boil and add cornstarch/water mixture, stirring until desired thickness is reached.

4. Remove from heat and cool 10 minutes.

5. Pour into pie crust. Cover with top crust. Bake at 375 for 40-45 minutes, until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Enjoy!

In our family, you always got a dollar if you found a pit in your cherry pie! This time the fabulous dude found one in his slice.