Who Ate The Cherry Pie?

Okay, so I made Mitch's favorite pie, Door County Sour Cherry, and it turned out so nice I thought I would take a picture. When I went to take the picture half the pie was gone! This pie goes so fast in our house, everyone loves it. I can't keep the kids out of the cherries before I make the pie, and they are sooo sour. This is even the recipe Will had me put in his kindergarten cookbook. The first time I made this pie was when we lived in Nashville. We had Thanksgiving with one of Mitch's friends from law school and his girlfriend. Sam was three weeks old. This was our contribution to the Thanksgiving feast and it was a big hit...everyone loved it. Since then it has been a favorite. The secret is the almonds in the crust and the almond extract in the cherry filling. (I only make the almond crust when I'm feeling really generous and inspired, otherwise plain old pie crust tastes good too.) Top with vanilla ice cream of course.


Door County Sour Cherry Pie
Filling
2 lbs pitted sour cherries, fresh or frozen, with juice
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4-1/2 tsp almond extract
1 T. intant tapioca
3/4 cup granulated sugar, plus 1-2 more T. if cherries extra tart
2 T. cornstartch
Mix cherries in a bowl with lemon, almond extract, and tapioca. Let sit for 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400.

Almond Pie Crust
3/4 cup sliced almonds
2 1/4 cups flour
3 T. powdered sugar
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup butter cut in small cubes, well chilled
12 T. shortening
5-7 T. ice water
Mix crust ingredients in food processor. First chop almonds with 3/4 c. of the flour, then add the remaining flour, sugar and salt. Add the butter and shortening. and puls until combined. Sprinkle in 4 T. of water. Add more water as needed. Roll dough into 2 flat disks. May need to refrigerate dough for 30 minutes. Roll out bottom crust and place in 9 in. pie pan.
Combine sugar and cornstarch, pour half of mixture into cherry filling, and the other half onto the bottom crust. Pour the cherry filling into the crust. Make lattice strips for the top of the pie. Bake for about 50 minutes, until crust is golden brown and flaky. Let cool for at least an hour. Enjoy!