Fireworks over the Gateway Arch
What's more American that pie? For some reason, people love pie. I don't really get it. Nothing is less appealing to me than crust, so something sandwiched between two crusts really doesn't do it for me. Additionally, pie crusts are a pain to make (I don't care what your technique is, it's not good enough to make pie crust makin' a desirable activity). The easiest pie crust recipes I have are "pat-in" pie crusts so you don't have to roll them out. Easy enough, but generally horrendously uneven and ugly. Even when you buy a frozen pie crust, it often cracks and is a pain. You can poke it everywhere and it will still puff up. Don't even get me started on the edges cooking too quickly. I'm convinced pie crust does these things just to be irritating and make pie-making an annoying elitist experience. Regardless, people I care about care about pie. Therefore, it would be wise of me to come to terms with pie making and pie eating. So that's what I'm going to do!
Objective
Make a cherry pie as my "dish to pass" for 4th of July activities. I saw this recipe in Better Homes and Gardens July 2012 issue. They call it "Double Cherry Crunch Pie." This version is very similar, but more accessible for people who don't have well-stocked grocers nearby. The filling has both sweet and tart cherries and the topping is a coconut/almond/oat crumble. *For a lower sugar version, look here.
Materials
1 9-inch or 9.5-inch pie crust
Filling:
1 12-oz bag of frozen sweet cherries
1 14-oz can of tart cherries in water
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 Tbs. cornstarch
pinch salt
strips of lemon peel, from one lemon
Crumble topping:
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
3/4 cup almonds, chopped
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1/4 cup whole wheat flour (or all-purpose for a milder flavor)
2 Tbs. brown sugar
1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small 1/4-inch cubes
Methods
1. Prepare and bake the crust until lightly golden. If you're using a store bought crust: lay in the pie pan and press into place. Form the edges however it pleases you. Prick the bottom and sides of the crust with a fork. Bake at 450° for 7-10 minutes or until it's lightly golden. If it puffs up while baking, prick the puff with a fork to settle it. Set the crust aside. Then, preheat the oven to 375°.
2. Meanwhile, thaw the frozen sweet cherries in a bowl, reserving the liquid that drains off. Drain the canned tart cherries into a 1 cup (or greater) liquid measuring cup and add the tart cherries to the bowl of sweet cherries. Once the sweet cherries have thawed (can microwave in short intervals to speed up the process), add the juice to the measuring cup with the juice from the can. Add water to 1 cup if necessary.
3. In a medium saucepan, mix the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Add the cherry juice and lemon peel. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until the liquid bubbles and thickens (this should be quick). Stir in the cherries and continue to stir over medium heat for 5 minutes. Pour the mixture into the pre-baked pie crust and set aside.
4. Make the crumble topping by mixing the dry ingredients together, then slowly stirring in the butter cubes (add them slowly so that they don't clump together). Sprinkle on top of the cherry filling.
5. Bake the pie at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until the topping is golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.
Results
This pie isn't much of a looker. However, as I hope you learned many years ago, looks aren't everything. The flavor is good, the filling is thick in consistency but not in depth. The crumble topping is also flavorful and adds nice texture.
Discussion and Future Directions
For pie, this is pretty easy to make. The crust is really the part you have to worry about. If you're not into crumble topping, you could easily make a lattice top and proceed that way. But you've read my feelings on crust--lattice top? Heck no. That's only for really special occasions. 4th of July potluck? Sorry America, you're not lattice-top worthy. Luckily, I love crumble topping on about everything.
If you like almonds, consider adding almond extract to the filling once it's done cooking. Cherry and almond go quite well together, which is probably why this topping has a very nontraditional ingredient: chopped almonds. If you like it on top, there's no reason not to add it to the filling too.
More on the filling--I wouldn't have minded more cherry filling. I might have preferred this as a deep dish cherry pie. There was a lot of crumble topping relative to the filling. However, I think the amount of crumble topping was good. Next time I might add another cup or so of cherries, keeping everything else the same (and that should fit in a normal size pie pan).
Overall, I actually liked this pie! I enjoyed a piece after dinner and we took it along to the bar after fireworks and continued picking at it (the crumble topping is great for picking)! This is a great summer pie, not just for the 4th of July! Give it a try!
Supplementary Materials
