Cherry Pie

My grandmother made the best cherry pie in the world! She had two big cherry trees in her back yard. As a kid, I never minded picking the cherries because that meant grandma was going to bake me one or two of her cherry pies!

Ingredients:

Pastry for 2-crust 9-inch/23-cm pie
2 cans (16 oz/454 g each) pitted tart cherries (water-pack)
1/3 cup/80 mL Watkins Tapioca Dessert Mix
1/4 tsp/1.2 mL Watkins Almond Extract
1 tsp/5 mL lemon juice
4 to 6 drops red food color
1 cup/250 mL sugar
1 tbsp/15 mL butter
1 tbsp/15 mL milk
1 tsp/5 mL sugar

Directions:

Drain cherries, reserving liquid. Measure 1/3 cup/80 mL liquid into mixing bowl. Add dessert mix, almond extract, lemon juice, food color, cherries and 1 cup/250 mL sugar. Mix and let stand for 10 minutes. Fit one of the rolled-out pastry crusts into bottom of 9-inch/23-cm pie pan, leaving 1/2-inch/1-cm rim. Fill with cherry mixture. Dot with butter. Moisten pastry rim with water. Roll out remaining crust and cut into 16 strips. Place strips lattice-fashion on top of pie. Flute or firmly press down edges, trimming if necessary. Brush pastry with milk and sprinkle with remaining sugar. Place on center rack of oven with a pan on lower rack to catch any drippings. Bake at 425ºF/220ºC for 45 to 50 minutes or until juices are bubbly. If necessary, cover edges and top with foil to prevent overbrowning.

Makes 6 large or 10 small delicious servings.

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To order Watkins quality ingredients, copy and paste the following URL into your browser or just click on hotlink:  http://www.WatkinsOnline.com/richardhschaefer

Or simply call me at 573-225-2582.

Also, check out 'Time For Pie' at the corner of 4th & Schiller Street in Hermann the next time you are craving a great tasting piece of cherry pie and you don't have the time to bake your own. I recommend a scoop of their French Vanilla ice cream and a cup of coffee to go along with the cherry pie. I guarantee you WILL NOT be disappointed. And if you crave another flavor instead of cherry, it's a good bet that you'll find it at 'Time For Pie'.

John and Jo Humason have been operating 'Time For Pie' since Maifest of 2007. Their summer hours are: 7 am - 9 pm, seven days a week. They're a great couple, and Hermann is fortunate that they chose to move here from Cincinnati a couple years ago!

By the way, John won't divulge his secret cherry pie recipe. I know he uses frozen tart cherries instead of the canned variety. His recipe is similar to mine, but he's got some "secret" ingredients and a finely controlled baking process that makes his pie extra special!

'Time For Pie' website: http://www.time4pie.com/

'Time For Pie' twitter address: http://twitter.com/timeforpie

(Click on the hotlinks or copy and paste URL's into your browser.)

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