The Healthy My Ass Cookbook

Cherry Pie

From scratch the way my aunt made it.

Ingredients:

Directions:

Drain the Cherries, reserving 3 tablespoons of juice, setting both aside.  Combine the Sugar, Flour and Salt in a separate container and set aside.

Prepare the Perfect Pie Crust - With Top and line a 9" pie pan with the bottom crust.

Preheat an oven to 450°F.

Melt 2 Tablespoons of the Butter and spread over the bottom of the pie crust.  Evenly sprinkle 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon of the sugar mixture over the butter.  Sprinkle the Almond Extract over that.  Add 1/3 of the cherries, about 1&1/2 cups, and another layer of 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon of the sugar mixture.  Repeat twice, using up all remaining of each the last time.  Melt the remaining 2 Tablespoons of the Butter and drizzle it over all along with the 3 tablespoons of the reserved juice.

Roll out the top crust, cover the pie, seal and flute the edges.  Cut slits in the top to ventilate.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, then lower the temperature setting to 300°F and continue baking 30 minutes more or until crust is golden brown and cherry juice is bubbling through the vents.  Cool completely 3 to 4 hours before slicing and serving.

Notes:

* Use 2 cans of Cherries for an 8" pie, 4 cans for a 10" pie.

For years I've been trying to make this and have it taste like Aunt Arelene's pie and I think I finally figured out what I was doing wrong.  I was buying cans of Cherry Pie Filling from the baking isle rather than cans of Tart Cherries from the canned fruit isle.

Serving Suggestions:

Goes especially well with ice cream.