Right under Glacier National Park is the massive Flathead Lake. It is surrounded by endless hills and cherry trees, and the site of a week-long cherry festival every year. The cherry pie bake-off is the highlight of the week, and winning the Best of Show award is a serious badge of honor. This recipe is one of those winners. References to cherry trees are sprinkle throughout American arts and culture, like this verse below from the Andrew Sisters:

Can she bake a cherry pie, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Can she bake a cherry pie, Charming Billy?
She can bake a cherry pie, quick as a cat can wink her eye
But she’s a young thing and cannot leave her mother. – The Andrew Sisters, 1953

Classic Cherry Pie

The cherry flavor that dominates this classic pie is a real treat. Using high quality pitted cherries dramatically reduces the time and effort of removing pits from fresh cherries with little to no change to it's taste. Serve slices warmed with vanilla ice cream.

5 from 2 votes

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Course: BBQ, Dessert

Cuisine: American, American Midwest, North American, Russia

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 1

Total Time: 1 15

Servings: servings

Author: My Hungry Traveler

Equipment

9-inch pie plate
Food processor
Rolling Pin

Ingredients

Pie Crust

½ cup Butter flavored shortening
2 cups All-purpose flour
3 tsp Confectioner's (powdered) sugar
¼ cup European unsalted butter, cut into small dice and placed in freezer for 30 minutes. (1 stick)
½ tsp Salt
1 large Egg, beaten
2 tsp White vinegar
1 tbsp Sour Cream
¼ cup Ice water

Cherry Pie Filling

4 cups Jarred cherries, juice reserved (Morello recommended)
1¼ cup Sugar
3 tbsp Tapioca
⅛ tsp Salt
1⅓ cups Reserved cherry juice

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

Make Pie Crust

Add flour, sugar, shortening, chilled butter cubes and salt to a food processor and pulse around 10 times until it resembles yellow cornmeal mixed with bean-sized bits of butter. Remove the cover and blade. Combine egg, vinegar, and water in a small bowl. Sprinkle over flour and toss with a fork. Remove from bowl and knead dough into a ball. Cut ball in half, and wrap each half tightly in plastic wrap. Place in refrigerator to chill for 1 hour.
Transfer 1 unwrapped chilled dough half to a lightly floured work surface. Roll into a circle 11-inches across and ¼-inch thick. Line the pie plate and leave overhanging the edges. Place back in refrigerator until ready to fill and bake.

Make Filling

Preheat oven to 425°F. In a large bowl combine all the filling ingredients. Remove pie shell and roll out second half of dough into a 10-inch round. Pour all the mixed filling ingredients into the pie plate. Cover with the top crust and crimp top and bottom edges together. Make 4 slits in top of crust to let steam escape.