Like many of us, Maggie has quite a life beyond food blogging. One of her (and her daughter’s) loves is riding horses. Maggie has started to blog some of her exploits as a “Pony Mom” at Pony Mama. Check it out and once again, here’s Maggie….
It is cherry season! So so so happy! I love cherry pie, but until last year had never made one. A friend of mine has a sour cherry tree, and she was on an extended vacation when the cherries came ripe. She kindly offered to let me pick from the tree. What a gift! She also shared tips on pitting the cherries (simply pop that pit out like a big pimple!). Best of all she shared this amazingly simple recipe for the best cherry pie. Ever. Get your hands on a batch of sour cherries and make this pie today. You won’t be sorry.
PS: A word about the pastry crust. I prefer Martha Stewart’s recipe for pie crust. It makes a flaky and tender crust. But, it takes time, energy and practice. I will freely admit that I find the refrigerated crusts to be almost as good as the handmade ones. And the quality is consistent. I bake a lot, and you just never know when the crust will turn out perfectly, or just…meh. The refrigerated crusts are always pretty darn good. Cheap, easy, and quick too. So, you have permission to cheat a little and buy the refrigerated crusts. However, NOT the frozen ones. Those stink.
Cherry Pie
What you need:
6 cups of fresh tart cherries, pitted
2 T Tapioca ( I use Kraft Minute Tapioca)
¾ cup sugar
¼ t cinnamon
1 T butter, cut into bits
What you do:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix first four ingredients in a bowl. Let stand 15 minutes. Line a 9” pie plate with pie crust. Bake bottom crust for 5-10 minutes, until it just begins to cook and bubble a bit. Remove from oven and fill with fruit mixture. Dot with butter. Cover with top crust; seal and flute edge. Cut several slits in top. (Or, if you want to get fancy, cut shapes from crust before you place it on top of fruit). Brush crust with cream or egg wash if desired. (I used heavy cream on the pie pictured). Bake for 45-50 minutes, until juices slowly bubble. Remove from oven and let cool before cutting.
Rantings of an Amateur Chef 
That looks yummy…will show my son this and see if he wants to try it. He loves pies! Thanks xK
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Great looking pie.
Fresh cherries is a bust in Wisconsin. Too bad for fresh cherry pie season in Wisconsin. How is the cherry situation in your area?
http://www.htrnews.com/article/20120618/MAN0101/306190030/Grower-Door-County-cherry-crop-has-all-failed
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I love Maggie Monday’s, I look forward to it! Love the cherry pie!
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Awww! Thanks! I am touched!
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Looks great maybe someday I will try it!
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Sounds great. I noticed cherries on sale at the market yesterday… this pie looks like a possibility!
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Now I need cherry pie:)
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Love, love, love cherry pie made with sour cherries. I always thought I didn’t like cherry pie, but it really was the canned cherry pie filling. Tart/sour cherries all the way for me!
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First off–great recipe! Your blog has inspired to stop despising cooking! Second– I never thanked you for choosing to follow my blog! If you know anyone who loves to read– please pass the link along. Keep up the awesome work on here. I’m really hungry now. 🙂
–writerchick
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Great recipe Maggie! I need to make this!
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