I made my first cherry pie the other day (supervised by Aunt Jane and Cousin Kelly). It was awesome. I am a big fan of the frozen pies that you just bake and serve. This is even better. Plus, it solves a big problem that we have: Too many frozen cherries in the freezer.
Mom has three cherry trees in her yard. In years past, one of the three might bear fruit each year, and usually even then, they were wormy or splotchy. Well, in June 2005, we had a bumper crop and they were just perfect. They looked a lot like this. I picked cherries for days. I soon learned that I could back my old beater truck into the tree and stand on the camper shell to pick them. Dad hoisted me up in the bobcat bucket to get the cherries at the tops of the trees. We gave away many, many buckets and quarts of cherries. Nobody wanted them. These cherries are very bitter and really only good for pies. So not wanting to let them go to waste, we pitted the rest. Mom is still a mean cherry pitter. We had 40 quarts of cherries to freeze and still some left over from 2004.
And the kicker is: I don't even like cherries! Pitting cherries is like squeezing little sticky eyeballs. Yuck!
Fast forward to this winter, and hardly any of the cherries had been used. By God, I was not going to let these cherries get freezer burn and be thrown away after all that hard work. I was on a quest to find a cherry pie recipe using the maximum amount of cherries per pie. My neighbor Marilyn came through with the prize winning recipe. The secret is to use a 10" quiche dish and Pillsbury Unroll and Bake pie crust.
Cherry Pie
- 2 quarts of frozen cherries
- 1 box (15 oz) Pillsbury® Unroll and Bake refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box
- 1.5 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350°F. Unroll the first crust and place in the bottom of the quiche dish. You may have to stretch the crust a bit to cover the sides of the dish. Put the frozen cherries in a medium sauce pan and warm up on medium heat. Once the cherries have thawed, add the sugar, flour, and cinnamon to the cherries. Turn up heat to high and bring to a boil. Stir constantly. Once the sugar has melted, pour the ingredients into the quiche dish. Cover pie with the second crust and flute the edges - OR- cut second crust into strips and create a lattice (as shown in picture). Bake at 350°F for 50 minutes or until crust begins to brown. Allow to cool before serving.
** Thanks to Cliff for the cherry tree picture. I didn't start blogging until late June and didn't have a picture to use.
Looks good! Keep up the baking.
Posted by: joann | February 08, 2006 at 11:33 PM
Your beater pick-up reminds me of the time I was driving thru Western Nebraska and was listing to a local radio station. It was doing a live broadcast from a car dealership and they were describing a pick-up (out here a truck is that big vechile that hauls grain) that had just come in on a trade - leather seats, and every bell and whistle that could be ordered. The announcer said, "Boys, I can guarentee that this pick-up has never been used to check the irragation pipes." I really had a chuckle as I could just picture what the "irriagation checker" must look like - very similiar to yours but minus the camper.
Posted by: A Friend of Cliff's | February 09, 2006 at 01:35 AM
Wait, is this Jerry's or Scott's page?? What the heck is the difference between a quiche pan and a deep dish pie pan? I'll be happy to take some of the surplus cherries off your hands. You should try cherries in bread, cherry cobbler, cookies, etc etc!
Posted by: Christy | February 09, 2006 at 08:32 AM
I'm so PROUD of you! Can't WAIT to see you...and taste test this mean cherry pie. Maybe I'll even take some cherries off your hands...
Posted by: Erikah | February 09, 2006 at 11:41 AM
Jerry,
The pie looks great.
Did you know that my Dad makes cherry wine? I see some bartering opportunities for next year…Dad picking and pitting in exchange for some of the fruits* of his labor.
*couldn't resist!
Posted by: Nora | February 09, 2006 at 01:03 PM
That is one purty pie Jerry!! You are talented for sure. If it tastes as good as it looks I know it was lip smacking good!
Posted by: Rachel | February 09, 2006 at 02:37 PM
The cherry tree pic looks so good. It's hard to believe the cherries that look that good would not taste good.
The pie looks & sounds yummy. I love pie and vanilla ice cream. Good thing I'm not nearby, or I would break my New Year's diet and eat half that pie.
That recipe is an easy one. That's my kind of recipe.
Good grief! I'm salivating.
Posted by: Jamie Dawn | February 09, 2006 at 05:25 PM
Jerry, I read Nora's comment about the wine and would mention that the cherries are best for wine if they have been frozen first. I have given away quite a few frozen cherries for wine. Maybe an idea for you. btw the pie looks just right. My mouth is watering also.
Posted by: cliff | February 11, 2006 at 01:50 PM
Nicely done Jerry! If we can get you up to speed on making your own pie crust you can be a guest contributor on my blog!
Posted by: scott | February 13, 2006 at 07:20 PM
Make jelly out of the cherry juice. The pie looks delicious. New reader here, came over from the wolf pack posts at other blogs. Sounds like everyone had a good time.
Posted by: Tina | February 26, 2006 at 12:30 AM