Dried Cherry Crumb Pie

2-20-11 Dried Cherry Crumb Pie

When I picked up a huge bag of dried cherries at Costco a few weeks ago, I had no clue what I was going to do with them. I love fresh cherry pie, but we aren’t getting fresh cherries in right now, so I wondered if I could make a decent pie out of dried cherries.

After checking on the internet, I came up with the following recipe to try. I have to say that the flavor was even more intense than fresh cherries, if that’s possible.

I forgot to take a picture before I started putting the crumb topping on the filling, but in this photo, you can see how beautifully glazed the filling looked. I also apologize for letting the entire pie get eaten without taking a picture of a piece. I’ll do it next time, I promise!

Put 3 cups of dried cherries in a large sauce pan and cover with 3 cups of boiling water. Let this soak for about 30 minutes while you make your pie shell. I suggest you use my tried and true, super simple pie crust that you can find here.

By the time you get that finished, your 30 minutes should almost be up. Put the soaked cherries and liquid over medium heat, add ½ cup flour and 1 cup sugar, stirring and simmering until thick. Remove from heat and add 1 teaspoon almond extract.

Cover with crumb topping. Put ½ stick butter, ½ cup packed brown sugar, and ½ cup flour in food processor (or mix together until crumbly). Spoon this over the cherries and bake at 400 degrees for about 35 minutes.

It was out of this world delicious! I’m going to try it with other dried fruits.

A hui hou!