Flaky, tender pie crust filled with sweet cherries flavored with a touch of almond extract makes the perfect pie for your sweetheart this Valentine’s Day.
I’m a terrible, terrible tease.
I’ve been showing you pictures of this pie all week, first in my butter vs. shortening post and again when I gave you the recipe for my Flaky Tender Pie Crust. But I made you wait almost an entire week for the recipe. (Longer if you follow me on Instagram…which you all really should. Consider it a sneak preview for the blog. Try to forgive all of the cat pictures. Ahem.)
Enough teasing. Time for pie.
Some of you may remember that late this summer I received 10 pounds of cherries in the mail. Even after going crazy with barbecue sauce and apple cherry butter, I still found myself up to my knees in cherries. In an effort to stay up to my knees in cherries for as long as possible, I pitted, halved, and froze the rest…and more or less forgot about them (we have a lot of stuff in our tiny, tiny freezer – it’s easy for things to get lost in there) until I suddenly found myself with a craving for cherry pie that wouldn’t quit.
Luckily for me – and all of you – Valentine’s Day is nearly upon us, and a Sweet Cherry Pie seemed like the perfect thing to make for one’s sweetie pie. Unless, of course, you live with the Ebenezer Scrooge of desserts, as I do, in which case Sweet Cherry Pie seemed like the perfect thing to make for oneself.
Do not ask me how many pieces I ate the day I made this pie. I will just plead the fifth. That’s all I’ll say about that.
We are using our Perfect Rhubarb Pie method here. Don’t remember what that means? Basically, instead of mixing our flour and sugar with our fruit, we are sprinkling it on the bottom of the pie and again on top of the fruit. This method ensures that everything bakes together into perfection while still leaving us with a perfectly crispy crust – because no one likes a soggy bottom(ed pie).
Decorate your pie with a few hearts cut out from your pie crust scraps and you have the perfect pie to tell your sweetheart just how much you love them.
Sweet Cherry Pie
Ingredients
- 1 recipe for Flaky Tender Pie Crust 1 9-inch double crust
- 4 cups halved and pitted sweet cherries fresh or frozen (thawed)
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 6-8 tablespoons flour
- 2/3 sugar + 1 teaspoon divided
- 1 egg + 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place a rack in the lowest position in the oven.
- If using thawed frozen cherries, drain the fruit.
- Toss cherries with almond extract. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix the flour with the 2/3 cup of sugar. Set aside.
- Roll out half of the crust to and place in a 9-inch pie plate. Sprinkle with 1/4 of the flour mixture. Top with the fruit (try not to include too much of the juices that may have accumulated), then sprinkle with the remainder of the flour mixture.
- Roll out the second half of the crust and top the pie. Trim and crimp the edges. Use a knife to cut vents for steam in the top. Whisk together the egg and water; brush over the top of the pie, then sprinkle with the remaining teaspoon of sugar.
- If you would like to cut out heart decorations, cut them out before placing the top crust on the pie. Cut out smaller hearts from the edge scraps and "glue" to the top of the pie with the egg wash.
- Place pie on a baking sheet on the bottom rack of the oven. Bake for 15 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 40-45 minutes or until pie is golden and filling is bubbly. Make sure to cover the edges of the pie with foil or a pie guard after 15-20 minutes to prevent them from browning too much.
- Cool before slicing and serving.
Notes
Michael wants to come live at your house 😛
Well, he might get tired of sleeping on our couch (which is really an Ikea futon) since we don’t have a guest room…although Alex did just buy the new PS4, so there’s that. And cherry pie. 😉
those are 2 large benefits. And he DID sleep on the couch for the last 4 years he lived at home (3 boys sharing a room when they’re fully grown is rough so he went to the couch :P)
BE MY VALENTINE.
We are officially getting married.
Love that you called this not just “cherry pie” but “SWEET Cherry Pie.”
~End haiku~
I’ll start a wedding pin board now. <3
Please tell me non-pie-loving Alex ate a piece or two of this!! You’re a smarty McSmartsalot for having the forethought to freeze some of the cherries to whip out for a cozy pie during the winter! MMMMM!
Pie calories are the ones that keep us energized far as I’m concerned. Girl’s gotta EAT! 😉
P.S. Guns n Roses WILL be stuck in my head all day, and IIIIIII LOVE it!!
He ate one bite. We were doing well to get that.
This is so beautiful! And looks absolutely delicious. Confession: I’ve never made pie before so I think it’s time I try. And this recipe looks like a great start for inspiration 🙂
Never made pie!?! Well honey, you just come over and I’ll teach you everything you need to know. (Or just email me your questions. I’ve got ya covered!)
Remember that one time I said I just wanted to eat the pie crust? Well I would still do that, but now I also really really really want ALL OF THIS. And I won’t even plead the fifth… I’m telling you ahead of time I’m eating the entire thing. For the baby, of course.
That baby is such a good pie excuse.
This pie looks perfect for Valentines Day! Thanks for sharing 🙂