Can She Bake a Cherry Pie???

Thanks @mutitum for the challenge! Yes, we CAN bake a Cherry Pie! In fact, here's how we do it! This particular recipe integrates two steps...first, prepping the cherries for canning, because I didn't need the pie that day, but the cherries needed to be processed or lost. The second is the pie, itself. All simple steps, no worries!!

Cherry Crumb Pie...the Ingredients

• 2# ripe cherries
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 unbaked pie crust, home made or store bought
• For the crumble topping: 1/2 cup all purpose flour, 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, 3 Tablespoons of butter, blended to make coarse crumbs, then mixed with 1/4 cup of chopped almond slivers

Ready? Let's get cooking!

It all starts with these sweet-tart fresh, ripe cherries! These are always best when in season, to say nothing about them being affordable at that time! They can be a bit pricey off-season. Just give them a nice rinse off.

Do you have a cherry pitter? I don't have a cherry pitter. But I do have my chef's knife! A gentle press will break the skin...no need to go all ninja here with the smashing...you'll end up with cherry juice splattered everywhere! Yes, it does stain! It took two days to get the stain off my fingers!

Once the skin is broken, the seed will squeeze right out. Save your pitted cherries in a big pot, discard the seeds and stems.

Heat the cherries, gently, over medium low flame; they'll, gradually, break down and release their deliciously sweet juices. Get you other cherry filling ingredients ready, while this is happening.

Whisk together the sugar and cornstarch; set it aside.

They're just starting to soften. I don't rush this, low and slow and steady we go!

Here's what we're looking for...nice soft cherries, swimming in their nectar of the Gods!

Stir in the sugar-cornstarch mixture and the lemon juice. At this point, it's ready to can! Spoon the cherry pie filling into clean wide mouth quart jars. Hot pack to store or refrigerate for up to a week. I just stored mine, the pie was for a few days later. ;) If you plan on baking the same day you process, be sure to let the filling cool completely!

A lot of recipes for Cherry Pie use the fruit raw, and just mix it with the sugar, cornstarch and lemon. Those are delicious, in their own right, but they have that tougher cherry skin thing going on...with this method, you still have cherries, but the skin is palatable and tender. I actually got a 'best cherry pie I've ever had' review from the client who ordered this!

To make the pie, just pour the cooled filling into a prepared pie crust that you've set on a foil lined baking sheet...you definitely don't want the filling bubbling over onto your clean oven...no, you don't! Top it with your crumb topping. It'll seem like it's too much...pile it on up, there, anyway! Cover the pie edge with foil, to prevent over-browning. Pop this into a preheated 375 degree Farenheit oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil from the edges of the crust and return to the oven for 25 to 30 minutes more. The filling will be all bubbly and the crust so golden brown and delicious! Set it on a wire rack to cool and tighten up. Enjoy this with a nice scoop of vanilla ice cream, or a dollop of fresh whipped cream!

So, that, my Steemian friends, is how we make our Cherry Pie! Hope you enjoy!