It may seem early for cherries, but after tasting some this morning, I knew they were coming home with me!
It seems I haven’t made a cherry pie in a while – or, I didn’t blog about it. That’s a possibility, albeit remote, since any time I make a cherry pie I have to casually mention how I won 2nd Place in the Cherry Pie Cook-Off at the Cherry Festival in San Leandro back in 2000. No brag. Just fact.
So… armed with my trusty cherry pitter, I went to work.
It didn’t take long to pit 2 pounds of cherries, and I hardly ate any at all whilst doing it!
Then it was mix the cherries with a splash of kirsch, sugar, and tapioca – and a bit of vanilla.
I had a crust in the freezer left from another baking project, so I rolled it out…
And filled it with those luscious cherries.
Then I made the crumb topping with butter, flour, oats, and just a pinch of cinnamon…
That went on the top and into the oven.
Less than an hour later… Perfection!
I’m not sure this one is enter-into-a-contest-worthy, but it’s pretty darned good.
Cherry Crumb Pie
filling
- pastry for single crust pie
- 2 lbs cherries, pitted
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tbsp kirsch
- 2 1/2 tbsp instant tapioca
- 1 tsp vanilla
- pinch salt
topping
- 2/3 cup flour
- 2/3 cup rolled oats
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 4 tbsp butter
- pinch cinnamon
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Roll out crust and fit into pie pan. Flute edges and refrigerate until ready to use.
Mix pitted cherries with sugar, tapioca, kirsch, vanilla, and salt. Let sit, stirring occasionally, for about an hour for tapioca to set.
Place in pie shell.
Make topping. Mix flour, sugar, oats, and a pinch of cinnamon. Stir in butter.
Bake at 400°F for about 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 375°F and bake another 20 or so minutes. Allow to cool before slicing.
Not bad at all for a spur of the moment creation!