Sour Cherry Filling
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
5 1/4 cups fresh or frozen (not thawed) sour cherries (13/4 lb), pitted
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons cold water
3 tablespoons cornstarch
All Butter Crust Dough
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (not unbleached)
2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes ( when I made by hand, I grated the butter)
9 to 12 tablespoons ice water ( I put water in freezer till very cold)
Special equipment: a pastry or bench scraper
Directions:
Make filling:
Heat butter in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides, then add fresh or frozen cherries with any juices and sugar and simmer, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. (Cherries will exude juices.) Continue to simmer until cherries are tender but not falling apart, about 8 minutes. Stir together water and cornstarch to form a thick paste, then stir into simmering filling and boil, stirring frequently, 2 minutes. Cool filling quickly by spreading it in a shallow baking pan and chilling until lukewarm, about 15 minutes.
Make the crust
Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl, then blend in butter with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) just until most of mixture resembles coarse meal with small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps. Drizzle evenly with 9 tablespoons ice water and gently stir with a fork (or pulse in food processor) until incorporated.
Squeeze a small handful: If it doesn't hold together, add more ice water 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring (or pulsing) until just incorporated, then test again. (Do not overwork mixture, or pastry will be tough.)
Turn out mixture onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 8 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather dough together with scraper and press into a ball, then flatten into a 6-inch disk. Chill dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.
Using lightly floured parchment paper, roll the dough out to a 16 inch circle. Place rolled dough with parchment paper on a baking sheet and fold ends over to fit on sheet, refrigerate for 30 minutes After 30 minutes, take dough from refrigerator , unfold dough . Place cherry pie filling onto crust leaving a 2 inch border around crust. Fold crust over filling, pleating as necessary, leaving middle of pie open. Bake at 425 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes or until crust is golden.
Reader Submitted Recipe
Bunny Bostow
