In Christmas in Homestead, Matt and his sister Zoe discuss how he’s falling for Jessica...and then bicker over a slice of cherry pie. Here’s a recipe for a cherry pie that’s as good as the ones from Pauline’s bakery in the story. Actually, it might even be a little better...
Yield: 1 (9-inch) deep-dish pie (12 servings)
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Bake Time: 70 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours
INGREDIENTS
Pie Filling:
9 cups (three 1-pound packages) frozen tart red cherries, thawed
2¼ cups sugar
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon cornstarch
1½ tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
1½ tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pie Crust:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1½ sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, chilled, cut into pieces
1/3 cup vegetable shortening, chilled, cut into pieces
½ cup ice water
2 tablespoons white sparkling sugar
DIRECTIONS
1. To prepare pie filling: Place cherries in a heavy sauce pan; simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Combine sugar and cornstarch in a bowl and mix to blend. Add to cherries; using a spatula, gently stir to blend. Add lemon juice, butter and vanilla. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until thickened. Chill.
2. To prepare pie crust: combine flour, sugar and salt in food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse to blend. Add butter and shortening; pulse briefly until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with pea-size pieces of butter and shortening. With machine running, add cold water until the dough forms a ball. Shape dough into 2 pie crust disks, cover and chill for 1 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
4. Lightly flour work surface; roll out 1 pie crust disk into a 12 to 14-inch circle, rotating dough as you go to prevent sticking. Transfer to 9-inch deep-dish pie pan, draping dough over outer edges. Cut excess dough and crimp edges. Chill crust.
5. Roll out remaining disk. Using a variety of snowflake cookie cutters, cut into snowflake shapes. Transfer to baking sheet, brush lightly with water and sprinkle with sparkling sugar. Chill 5 minutes.
6. Pour chilled filling into chilled pie crust. Top with snowflake cut-outs in a random pattern.
7. Bake for 70 minutes, or until filling is bubbling in the center and crust is golden brown. Cool before serving.