I have always considered making a cherry pie to be a difficult task. Where do you even get the cherries if you don’t have your own cherry tree? Many of the cherries at the grocery store and farmers’ market are for eating not pie making. Do you have to use tart cherries or can you use sweet cherries? I had lots of questions. After a little research, I found some sweet answers. (Click here to jump to the recipe.)
Elusive sour (tart) cherries are the first choice for pie making it seems. They only have about a 3-week picking window in the summer, if the weather cooperates. And they are hard to find! But a great alternative to fresh cherries, meaning you can make cherry pie year round, is the canned dark Morello cherry. Many people in the U.S. are confused by the dark color of the Morello cherry since they associate sour cherries with a bright red color. But don’t let the dark color fool you because Morello cherries are indeed a sour cherry. I found some canned in a jar at Trader Joe’s. But if you don’t have a Trader Joe’s nearby or they don’t stock them, look for other canned sour cherries (in juice) such as the Montmorency.
Make your own crust or buy a refrigerated crust from the grocery store. If you are going to cut fancy pastry shapes, buy 4 crusts. Using small cookie cutters, cut out shapes to place on the pie for the top crust.
Have fun and look for objects in the kitchen that you can use to cut shapes. Make small balls by rolling the dough between your palms.
Make an aluminum fold ring to protect the outer crust from over-browning. Start by pressing a sheet of aluminum fold against the top of your empty pan to mold the shape of your pan. Then cut the middle of the foil out and cut any excess aluminum foil off the sides to create a ring. Then make the pie and place your ring on it. Leave on this ring for the entire cooking time. Remember, the ring doesn’t have to be exact. It just needs to be big enough to protect the outer crust from excessive browning.
This recipe makes six mini pies (or 5 if you like a lot of cherries in each pie). You can also make one 9-inch pie.
| Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Cook Time | 30 minutes |
| Servings |
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- 4 crusts for decorated mini pies (2 crusts for a 9-inch pie)
- 1- 24.7 ounce jar Morello Cherries in light syrup (or equivalent sour cherry such as Montmorency)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons tapioca starch (or tapioca flour)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- (6) 6 x 4.5 inch mini tins or a 9-inch pie dish
- Baking sheet
- parchment paper
Ingredients
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- Pour the cherries and 1 cup of the cherry juice into a mixing bowl. Add the sugar, tapioca flour, and salt. Stir well and let sit for 15-20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, grease the tins and place a crust in the bottom and up the sides of each pie tin. If using cut-out shapes to decorate the pie, cut those now.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the baking sheet into the oven to heat. Stir and then divide the cherries and cherry juice between the 6 pie tins. Add the crust cutouts to cover the top of the pie.
- Cover the edge of the pie crusts with aluminum foil rings. Leave the aluminum foil on for the entire cooking time.
- Remove the hot baking sheet from the oven and place the parchment paper on it. Add the pies and bake at 400 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes, or until crust is brown.
- Pour the cherries and 3/4 cup of the cherry juice into a mixing bowl. Add the sugar, tapioca flour, and salt. Stir well and let sit for 15-20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place a crust in the bottom of the pie dish. If using cut out shapes to decorate the pie, cut those now.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Stir and then pour all the cherries and juice in the crust. Add the crust cutouts to cover the top of the pie or place a crust over top of the pie and flute the edges to seal the two crusts.
- Cover the edge of the pie crust with an aluminum foil ring.
- Remove the hot baking sheet from the oven and place the parchment paper on it. Add the pie and bake at 400 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
- Check the pie during the last 10 minutes of cooking. If the crust is brown under the aluminum foil ring, leave the ring in place. If the crust has not browned under the aluminum foil, remove it at this time.
The purpose of placing the pies on a hot baking sheet is to help keep the crust bottom from becoming soggy.
Yield:Β Six mini pies or 8 slices from a 9-inch pie.