Life, With Pits & All

Good morning, Kitschies!  No, I didn't forget about y'all yesterday - it was just SUPER busy at work.  I am in the process of working on our new EMR program and it's a tad overwhelming.  I can usually work on things here at the clinic for hours at a time, but this?  I can only work on it for about an hour before my brain just stops working.  Like, I can't think of the next step even though I've done it over and over again.  *sigh*  At least I'm off tomorrow.  Don't you just love 3-day weekends?

OK.  So.  I've had this recipe in my pending file for a while (was it before Thanksgiving?!).  One weekend I told my hubs I wanted to make a pie and he immediately said "Cherry!".  I went browsing through my Allrecipes recipe box and found a tried and true recipe for his beloved cherry pie.

Cherry Pie
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup shortening
1/2 cup cold water
1 pinch salt

2 pounds sour cherries, pitted
1 1/8 cups white sugar
3 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp butter
1/4 tsp almond extract

In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in the shortening until pea sized. Stir in water until mixture forms a ball. Divide dough in half and shape into balls. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. Roll one ball out to fit a 9 inch pie plate. Place bottom crust in pie plate. Roll out top crust and set aside. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C.) In a saucepan, combine cherries, sugar and cornstarch. Let sit for about 10 minutes. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until the juices thicken and become translucent. Remove from heat and stir in the butter and almond extract. Mix thoroughly and pour into pie shell. Cover with top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough. Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape.

Bake in the preheated oven for 45 to 55 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.

NOTES:  I didn't use the crust recipe given here; I used pre-made refrigerated dough and rolled it out to fit the 9-inch pie plate.  I didn't want to mess with the lattice top, so I borrowed Nate's PlayDoh cutter and cut out a bunch of cute little snowflakes for the top.

Separating out the juice from the cherries would've been easier if it wasn't the consistency of jelly.

I was afraid the "sauce" wouldn't thicken because it seemed pretty thin once I removed it from the stove.  But once it sat in the fridge for a bit, it firmed up perfectly!

It's been too long since I prepped a pie shell.  I cut the edge of the crust too short and didn't leave any to tuck under.  I ended up with crispy edges as a result (and that's even *with* a pie hat).

Aren't those little snowflakes cute?!  I should've made more and overlapped them a bit, but it wasn't bad for my first try at something decorative like this.

See?  Crispy edges.  *sad Megan*  Well, you can't win them all!  LOL  Yep.  I really should've made more snowflakes.


Today is my Friday here at work...and I definitely need the break!!  4 straight days of stress headache is wearing me down.  I may be back with a post tonight, or it might wait til tomorrow.  Or the weekend.  Either way, I'll be back.  Oh, and I'm going to announce a little giveaway some time in the next week, so keep your eyes open!