Old Fashion Cherry Pie

My Husband, Matthew, has an obsession (to put it mildly) with cherry pie.  This year he brought home some wonderfully fresh picked Bing cherries, and i thought what better time than now to try my hand at making the All-American Cherry Pie.  I tried several recipies, before i came across the perfect, most delicious cherry pie recipe from the Smitten Kitchen.  The almond extract that i used creates the nostalgic feeling of good 'ole American cooking where housewives cool pies on their window sill, and children play outside.

Old Fashion Cherry Pie

Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen

• All butter, really flaky pie dough 
• 4 cups pitted fresh cherries (about 2 1/2 pounds unpitted)
• 4 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2/3 to 3/4 cup sugar (adjust this according to the sweetness of your cherries)
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• Zest of half a lemon
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cut into small bits
• 1 egg, beaten with 2 tablespoons water

Preheat oven to 400°F

Stir together the cherries, cornstarch, sugar, salt, lemon zest and almond extract gently together in a large bowl

Roll out half of chilled dough (use larger piece, if you’ve divided them unevenly) on a floured work surface to 13-inch round. Gently place it in 9-inch pie pan, either by rolling it around the rolling pin and unrolling it over the pan or by folding it into quarters and unfolding it in the pan. Trim edges to a half-inch overhang

Spoon filling into pie crust, discarding the majority of the liquid that has pooled in the bowl. Dot the filling with the bits of cold butter

Roll out the remaining dough into a 12-inch round on a lightly floured surface, drape it over the filling, and trim it, leaving a 1-inch overhang. Fold the overhang under the bottom crust, pressing the edge to seal it, and crimp the edge decoratively. Brush the egg wash over over pie crust, then sprinkle

Cut slits in the crust with a sharp knife, forming steam vents, and bake the pie in the middle of the oven for 25 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350°F. and bake the pie for 25 to 30 minutes more, or until the crust is golden. Let the pie cool on a rack.

-Erin