I broke down and made a cherry pie. I could give you a recipe for pie crust, but the technique is more important than the formula. I did replace some of the water with vodka, but the key was getting just the right amount of moisture for it to roll out. I am behind schedule using up my frozen fruit: need to make room for this year's crop of cherries special ordered from the farm stand.



This picture is from last year. The crust wasn't cooperating, so the lattice left something to be desired. The most recent pie has a regular crust, nothing fancy.

Here is my cherry pie recipe.

Cherry Pie

Pastry for a 9-inch double-crust pie
Pitted sour cherries to fill pie pan
1 1/3 cups sugar
5 tablespoons flour
Pinch of salt
4 drops almond extract (measure into a spoon first)
2 tablespoons butter
Milk for on top
Sugar for on top

Line the pie pan with the bottom crust. Combine the dry ingredients in a good-sized bowl. Mix in the cherries, and when mixed well, sprinkle the almond extract over the cherries and give another stir. Pour into the pie crust and dot with butter. Cover with the top crust, a lattice top is very nice. Brush the crust with milk and sprinkle on white sugar. Bake 15 minutes at 425 degrees, then turn down the oven to 350 and bake 30 or so minutes until juices are bubbling in the center. Put foil under the pan to catch any drips; also if the edges are getting too dark put foil strips around the edge of the crust.

This is an optional step that I sometimes do because we are 7000 feet above sea level: Bring the filling to a boil on top of the stove before pouring into the pie crust. If I don't do it, the pie has to bake an hour or more.