Cherry cherry pie - country living

10 servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
Pastry (recipe follows)
½ cup Plus 1 t sugar
3 tablespoons Cornstarch
¼ teaspoon Salt
2 16-oz cans sour cherries
1 cup Dried sour cherries
½ teaspoon Almond extract
4 To 5 drops red food coloring (opt.)

Directions

1. Prepare Pastry.

2. Prepare filling: In 3-quart saucepan, combine ½ C sugar, the cornstarch, and salt. Drain liquid from canned cherries into the saucepan; set cherries aside. Stir cherry liquid into sugar mixture until no lumps remain. Heat mixture to boiling over medium heat, stirring frequently; continue cooking 1 minute until mixture is clear. Stir in reserved cherries, the dried cherries, almond extract, and food coloring, if desired; set aside.

3. Heat oven to 400'F. Between 2 sheets of floured waxed paper, roll out one ball of pastry to an 11-inch round. Remove top sheet of paper and invert pastry into 9-inch pie plate, letting excess extend over edge. Remove remaining sheet of waxed paper. Spoon cherry filling into pastry-lined plate.

4. Between sheets of floured waxed paper, roll out remaining pastry to a 9½-by 7 ½ inch rectangle. Remove top sheet of paper from pastry. With fluted pastry wheel or knife, trim long edges to make them even, then cut rectangle lengthwise into fourteen ½-inch-wide strips.

5. To make lattice crust, place 1 strip in center of pie and another at right angle to first strip. Place 2 strips, one on each side of first strip, about ¼ inch apart. Place 2 more strips, one on each side of second strip. Continue in this fashion, 2 strips at a time, moving toward edge of pie, until all strips have been used. Trim off all strips extending more than 1 inch past rim of pie plate. Lift edge of bottom crust over ends of strips. Pinch together and flute edge. Sprinkle remaining 1 t sugar onto pastry strips. Place pie on rimmed baking sheet.

6. Bake pie 35 to 40 minutes or until pastry is golden brown and the filling bubbles. Cool pie on wire rack 15 to 20 minutes before cutting.

Pastry: In medium-size bowl, combine 2 ¼ C unsifted all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, and ½ t salt. With pastry blender or 2 knives, cut ½ C (1 stick) butter and ¼ C vegetable shortening into flour mixture until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle 1 t almond extract and 5 to 6 tablespoons cold water over flour mixture, 1 T at a time, and mix lightly until pastry holds together when lightly pressed. Shape pastry into 2 equal balls; flatten each ball to 1-inch thickness. Wrap and refrigerate pastry for 30 minutes.

Country Living/Oct/94 Scanned & edited by Di Pahl & <gg>

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