A bowl full of sour cherries!

A bowl full of sour cherries is a beautiful thing! And the cherry tree in bloom is even more beautiful!!

My husband was not a huge fan of cakes and never wanted one for his birthday but he loved a sour cherry pie. When we lived in Northern Virginia I could get sour cherries at the farmers market from Kuhns Orchards at the end of June/beginning of July just in time for his birthday. Made it a no-brainer!

When we moved to Mathews and laid out the garden, we planted two fruit trees. A peach, the travails of which I have already written about (https://creeksidekitchenandgarden.com) and a sour cherry.

Two years ago we netted the tree and harvested 4 gallons of fruit. Last year was the first summer after my husband Jim had passed and I let the birds have it all. It just seemed right. This year, I tried to strike a deal with the birds and let them have all the fruit out of my reach if they would leave me the cherries on the low branches. They didn’t understand — but it worked out fine. I had enough cherries for one pie or two tarts and I went with the latter.

Cherry tree canker has recently attacked my cherry tree and I’m not sure I’ll be able to save it. But in the meantime…cherry pie with an olive oil crust.

Sour Cherry Pie

First, de-stem, wash, pit and drain your cherries. There are several ways to pit cherries. They sell cherry pitters, which I have never used so I can’t comment on how well they work. I used to have an old fashioned metal potato peeler the end of which was perfect for pitting cherries. One day I had a brain cramp and tossed it because it wasn’t peeling well anymore. *sigh* I regret that as I’ve never found another one that works like that one did. Fortunately for me, my thumbnail also works really well and what’s a few cherry stains on your fingers! It fades in a day or so 🙂

Let the cherries drain for about 15 minutes. Save the juice for another purpose. (How about adding a bit of sugar and some club soda for a special cherry soda?) When the cherries are drained (you should have about 1 cup per tart or 4 cups for a pie) mix them into a bowl with flour, cornstarch and sugar. You will need about 1 tablespoon of flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons of cornstarch and 1/4 to 1/2 cup of sugar for every 2 cups of cherries.

Roll out the pie crust of your choosing (more on that below) and fill with your cherry mixture. Dot with butter. I used Miyokos vegan butter, which I love!

I did a lattice top for this pie but you could do a regular full crust.

Bake at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes.

Choose your crust

I had a ball of olive oil pie crust in my freezer which I used for these tarts. That made the crust super easy. You can use a pre-made crust, there are some really good ones out there. I also like the old fashioned crisco crust but I find the olive oil crust has a really good flavor and skips the trans fats found in shortening.

I’m also sure this is my issue but I’ve never been able to make a good coconut oil pie crust. They always turn out hard as a rock. (I should just keep trying, I guess but I like my olive oil crust.). If you’ve had success, let me know!

The cherry pie recipe used here is adapted from Jim Forbes Old Fashioned Baking cookbook which I’ve now had for more than 30 years and the olive oil pie crust is straight out of the Moosewood Kitchens New Classics cookbook.

Sour Cherry Pie Filling

Ingredients

• 6 cups of sour cherries for a pie or 2 cups for a tart
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup of sugar (2 tablespoons to 1/3 cup granulated sugar for a tart)
• 2 tablespoons flour (2 teaspoons per tart)
• 1 tablespoon of cornstarch (1 teaspoon per tart)
• pinch of cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons chilled butter cut into bits (about 2 teaspoons per tart)

Directions

Adjust a rack to the middle of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees.

Rinse the cherries and pull out any stems. Remove the pits. Place cherries in a strainer and let them drain for about 15 minutes. Reserve the juice for another purpose or discard. Mix the drained pitted cherries with the sugar, flour, cornstarch and cinnamon. Place the cherry mixture into the prepared pie crust and top with either a standard or a lattice crust. If using a standard crust cut some vents in the top crust. Place on a backing sheet (I line mine with foil to make cleanup easier) and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes until the pie begins to brown and bubble. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees and cook until golden brown about 20 to 25 minutes longer.

Olive Oil Pie Crust

Ingredients

• 2 cups unbleached white flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup olive (or other vegetable) oil
• 1/2 cup water

Directions

Stir the flour and salt together in a large bowl. With a fork, stir in the oil and water. Shape the dough into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for about a half an hour. Roll out and line pie pan with dough or divide dough and roll out if making tarts. Refrigerate until ready to bake. Double the recipe for a double crusted pie.

A sad farewell

This will be the last sour cherry pie to come from my garden for a while. Sadly, cherry tree canker progressed throughout the entire tree and it had to be removed. A neighbor did it for me while I was away so I didn’t have to see it. It had to come out and that is life in the garden and I will remember the cherries with joy.