“Miss Georgia Doty, Colorado’s cherry pie-baking queen, gives you her cherry pie recipe,” say the cards from the Northern Colorado Cherry Growers Association. Following is her recipe, tested and edited by Kristen Browning-Blas. Makes 1 9-inch pie.
Ingredients
CRUST
2 cups flour1 teaspoon salt
cups lard or shortening
¼ cup ice water
FILLING
2½ cups drained sour cherries (or more, if you like a fuller pie)
½ cup cherry juice
1 tablespoon butter
1 cups sugar (increase to 1½ cups if using more cherries)
3 tablespoons cornstarch
teaspoon saltMilk and sugar, for top crust, if desired
Directions
Make crust: In a large bowl, sift flour and salt. Cut half of shortening lightly into flour mixture until it is quite fine. Cut in remaining shortening in particles about the size of peas. Gradually add ice water and mix with fork until dough holds together. Divide in half and roll out lightly between wax-paper sheets into two crusts.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Filling: Drain cherries, reserving ½ cup juice. (If you need more liquid, add water or bottled juice.) Sift sugar, cornstarch and salt into a medium bowl. Combine with juice, making a smooth paste. Add cherries, mixing with a fork to coat. Add to pastry-lined pie plate. Dot with butter. Add top crust. (Leave solid or cut into lattice. Brush with milk and sprinkle sugar over crust, if desired).
Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue baking 30-40 minutes, until crust is delicately browned.
