#88 Make a Homemade Cherry Pie With the Cherries From Our Yard

This was one of my favorite tasks so far! I really enjoy baking and it was a really satisfying feeling to know that we picked the cherries straight off of a tree in our yard!

Corey actually picked the cherries from our tree in the spring and bagged them all and stored them in our freezer. Then last weekend I mentioned to him that I wanted to do some baking and he was like, "You should make something with the cherries that we froze" and a bell rang in my head saying, "Yes, that is on your list!". So I looked online for a good homemade pie recipe and found one for a Sour Cherry Crumb Pie (recipe at bottom of post), which I specifically chose because I suspected that our cherries would be very sour. Anyway, the first thing I had to do was pit the cherries. This was so easy because we have a cherry/olive pitter from Williams-Sonoma - this would have been awful if I didn't have that!

Next I made the pie crust (my fave recipe also at bottom of post). This is me holding it after I wrapped it up to chill in the fridge while I made the filing and the crump topping.

Then I put the cherries in the crust and poured the crumb crust on top.

Wa la! There you have it...super easy sour cherry crumb pie!

I was disappointed when I cut into the pie - I must not have drained the cherries enough because it was pretty watery.

But I sucked some of the juice out with a baster and let it sit overnight and it thickened up. So make sure you drain the cherries thoroughly. I took it to work and also gave Corey a piece and it was a hit! The best part was that I had a few people say that they are not normally big cherry pie fans but loved this and hope I make it again. I will definitely be making this pie again next season!

Williams-Sonoma Basic Pie Dough Recipe

1 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose plain flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes

3 tablespoons very cold water

To make the dough in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, stir together the flour, sugar, and salt in the mixer bowl. Add the butter and toss with a fork to coat with the flour mixture. Mix on medium-low speed until the texture resembles coarse cornmeal, with the butter pieces no larger than small peas. Add the water and mix on low speed just until the dough pulls together.

Here is the link to the Sour Cherry Crumb Pie recipe: http://pies-cookies-squares.suite101.com/article.cfm/sour_cherry_crumb_pie