The Pete Burgess Cherry Pie Recipes

THE BEST CHERRY PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place bottom pie crust into a 9-inch pie pan; made pricks along the bottom with a fork.
• Bake in the preheated oven until pie crust is lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Remove crust from oven and cool for 5 minutes.
• Combine cherries, sugar, cornstarch, and almond extract together in a bowl. Pour cherry mixture into the prepared pie pan; dot with butter. Cover with top crusts, crimp the edges to seal, and cut vents into the top with a sharp knife. Place the pie on a foil-covered baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. If it is browning too fast cover the pie with an aluminum foil tent. Continue baking until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly, 10 to 20 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool, about 15 minutes.

TWICE-BAKED SOUR CHERRY PIE

Steps:

• To make dough: in bowl of a food processor pulse together flour and salt just to combine. Add butter and pulse until chickpea-size pieces form. Add 3 to 6 tablespoons ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse until mixture just comes together. Separate dough into 2 disks, one using 2/3 dough, the other using the remaining. Wrap disks in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour (and up to 3 days) before rolling out and baking.
• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Place larger dough disk on a lightly floured surface and roll into a 12-inch circle, about 3/8-inch thick. Transfer to a 9-inch pie plate. Line dough with foil and weigh it down with pie weights. Bake until crust is light golden brown, about 30 minutes.
• While pie crust is baking, prepare filling. In bowl of a food processor, combine sugar, tapioca and cinnamon (use more tapioca if you prefer a thicker, more solid filling, and less if you like a looser, juicier filling). Run the motor until tapioca is finely ground. Place cherries in a bowl and add sugar and tapioca mixture. Drizzle in kirsch or brandy and toss gently to combine.
• When pie crust is ready, transfer it to a wire rack to cool slightly and reduce heat to 375 degrees. Remove foil and weights. Scrape cherry filling into pie crust.
• Place smaller disk of dough on a lightly floured surface and roll it 3/8-inch thick. Use a round cookie cutter (or several round cookie cutters of different sizes) to cut out circles of dough. Arrange circles on top of cherry filling in a pattern of your choice.
• Brush top crust with cream and sprinkle generously with Demerara sugar. Bake until crust is dark golden brown and filling begins to bubble, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Transfer pie to a wire rack to cool for at least 2 hours, allowing filling to set before serving.

THE PETE BURGESS CHERRY PIE

Steps:

• To begin: Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
• For crust: Mix flour and salt together in a large bowl. Using a pastry blender, fork or two knives, cut in the shortening until the mixture is well blended and resembles cornmeal. Sprinkle water over dough and combine, adding just enough to hold it together. Divide dough in half. Roll one half out onto a pastry cloth or between two sheets of wax paper until it is about 1/8 inch thick and large enough to cover the bottom and sides of the pie plate.Lay crust in pie plate. Set aside second half of dough.
• For filling: Combine cherries, sugar and tapioca. Pour into the center of the prepared pie shell.
• To finish: Roll out second ball of dough as first, and lay rolled pastry over the top of the pie. Pinch the edges of the two crusts together. Cut 3 to 4 slices in the top crust.
• To bake: Bake in 500-degree oven for 15 minutes, then lower the oven to 375 degrees and bake for 20 to 25 minutes more until crust is brown and filling is bubbling.