President’s Day is coming up on February 17 this year. As a kid in elementary school I recall how we were taught all about George Washington. Father of our country. “First in war. First in peace. First in the hearts of his countrymen.”
And, then there was the story about how he was so honest that as a child he confessed to having cut down a cherry tree with an axe. Whoopdee-doo. He was a normal kid who got into mischief but was enough of a nerd to confess. He probably got his butt whupped anyway.
But I guess that’s how George Washington came to be connected to cherry trees and cherries and cherry pies. So, in celebration of President’s Day (which now combines a celebration of both Washington and Abraham Lincoln’s birthday along with homage to all the other Presidents) let’s make a simple, tasty, inexpensive Cherry Pie.
When I asked Mrs. CB what she wanted for dessert for Christmas dinner, without hesitation she said “Cherry Pie”. What? No pumpkin, or mincemeat or pecan? Nope. That’s what she wanted and here is the pie she got.
Feel free to use a pre-made pie crust from the grocery store. It cuts down on the work and gives you a good pie. Here’s a link to my pie crust recipe which I make the old-fashioned way with 4 simple ingredients—flour, water, salt and lard. (If you don’t want to use lard, butter would be a great 2nd choice or shortening or even margarine).
http://www.cheap-bastid-cooks.com/old-fashioned-lard-pie-crust/
Recipe: Cherry Pie
Summary: Red, round and oozing juicy goodness, this Cherry Pie is easy to make and incredibly tasty.
Ingredients
- 2 cans tart cherries, drained well (about 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 cups)
- 2/3 cup sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ – 1 tbsp lime or lemon juice (optional)
- ¾ tsp Cinnamon
- Chipotle powder (0ptional) couple of shakes
- 4-6 drops red food coloring (optional)
- 1-2 tablespoons butter or margarine
- Bottom and top crusts to line a 9-inch pie pan
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F degrees.
- Prep the pie crust. Cut the bottom about 3 inches wider than opening of pie pan.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the
sugars, flour, cinnamon and chipotle until well combined, breaking up any lumps. - Add cherries.
- Add vanilla and lime/lemon juice. Add food coloring and gently mix to combine.
- Put bottom crust into the pie pan making sure that it overhangs the top edge.
- Add cherry mixture to lined pie plate. Dot with butter.
- Add top crust cut about 1 inch wider than opening of pie pan. Flute and vent by cutting 3-4 slashes in top crust.
Preparation time: 20 minute(s)
Cooking time: 50 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 8
Source: Blog—“Kitchen Bounty” by Gary Czerwinski who’s a great writer, cook and photographer.
This tastes great. Tart filling. Flaky crust. We were ready to dig in. But, we were missing one ingredient that would have made it really, really fantastic—a couple of scoops of vanilla ice cream. Especially while the pie was still warm.
You better believe that it won’t be long before I make my second ever Cherry Pie. This made for a great dessert, sitting back on the couch, feet up on the edge of the coffee table, enjoying the taste of the pie and making ourselves slow down to savor it rather than snarfing down the goodness of the pie.
The Cheap Bastid Test: Well, the pricey part of this is that the cherries aren’t what I would call cheap at about $3 a can. But the rest is pretty reasonable. The ingredients for the pie crust cost maybe $.50 and the other ingredients that go into the filling cost about another $.50. The total was about $7. Yeah, a bit more than I like but at a restaurant this would cost about $3.50 to $5.00 a slice. I’d rather make it at home.
Ol’ George and I share a birthday (Feb. 22). Maybe I’ll ask for a birthday cherry pie this year instead of cake.
Rae, I have preferred birthday pie for the last 20 years or so. I love pie. It’s my birthday. I can have pie if I want. So I do. Of course I bake it myself but everyone always likes it.