Champion Cherry Pie

By Judi Harris-Nulle
@winningrecipes

I made this for the Jefferson County Fair in Boulder, MT this past weekend (8/27/11). It won a Champion ribbon.

Rating:

★★★★★ 2 votes

Comments:

13 Comments

Serves:

Prep:

1 Hr 30 Min

Cook:

55 Min

Method:

Bake

Blue Ribbon Recipe

Notes from the Test Kitchen:
We can see why this is a champion cherry pie. It is sweet and tart, with a soft oozing cherry center... just heavenly. The golden and flaky crust is also pretty easy to make. A great dessert when fresh cherries are in season. Yum!

Ingredients

12 Tbsp: (1 1/2 sticks) very cold margarine
3 c: all-purpose flour
1 tsp: salt
1/3 c: very cold crisco shortening
6 to 8 Tbsp: (about 1/2 cup) ice water
4 c: pitted cherries
3 Tbsp: minute tapioca
3/4 c: sugar
1/4 tsp: almond extract

How to Make Champion Cherry Pie

Step-by-Step

1For the cherry filling: Mix all ingredients and set aside while making crusts.
2For the crust: Dice the margarine and return it to the refrigerator while you prepare the flour mixture.
3Place the flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse a few times to mix. Add the margarine and shortening.
4Pulse 8 to 12 times, until the margarine is the size of peas.
5With the machine running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse the machine until the dough begins to form a ball.
6Dump out onto a floured board and roll into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
7Cut the dough in half. Roll each piece on a well-floured board into a circle, rolling from the center to the edge, turning and flouring the dough to make sure it doesn't stick to the board. Spray the bottom of a pie pan with PAM Bakers. Fold the dough in half, place in pie pan. Repeat rolling process for the top crust.
8Sprinkle 1 tablespoon flour on the inside of the bottom crust.
9Fill crust with cherry mixture.
10Put other crust on top of the pie. Fold top crust slightly under bottom crust all around the edge of the pie. Add cherry crust cut-outs to edges of the pan. With extra crusts, make some cherry cut-outs and put them in a circle in the middle of the pie. Trim pie around the edges.
11Beat one egg with 1 tablespoon water and brush mixture over pastry and edges. Sprinkle with sugar.
12Take a sharp knife and make four slits in the pastry to let out the steam.
13Bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees, then turn oven down to 350 degrees for the remaining 45-55 minutes.
14If edges start to brown too quickly, place aluminum foil over them. Pie is done when golden brown and some filling may be bubbling out.