This is the month of George Washington’s birth, the lad who said “I cannot tell a lie. I chopped down the cherry tree with my little hatchet.” At least, that’s the story that many children heard when they were in the early grades. Truth or myth, I will always associate Washington with cherries.
I continue to buy fresh cherries because they are so good for you – not to mention delicious! Wonderful cherries have been filling up our markets, and although they are not “local,” they are hard to resist.
One of my favorite ways to eat cherries, other than right out of the box, is this crumb pie. I seldom have the patience to work on an elaborate lattice top crust for pies, so I tend to use a crumb topping for most fruit pies. But it allows for more cherries per bite!
Pie Crust
This is extremely fast and easy – always delicious and reliable! You’ll never roll out another pie crust the old way again!
Place 1 ½ cup all-purpose unbleached flour + 1 ½ teaspoon sugar + ¼ teaspoon salt directly into ungreased pie pan.
Into ½ cup canola oil, add 2 Tablespoons cold milk. Mix with fork until milky.
Pour over flour mix in 9” pie pan, and mix it all together. Press the mix onto the pan until it resembles a regular pie crust. Be sure to leave enough up on the sides to squeeze into a fluted rim. It’s light and flaky. No one ever leaves the edge of this crust on the plate!
Filling
Combine 1 cup sugar (I use ½ cup Splenda and ½ cup sugar) NOTE: If the cherries are sweet, you can get away with less sweetening, 1/3 cup flour, 1/8 teaspoon salt
Add this combination to 4 heaping cups of pitted cherries that have had 3 drops of almond extract added to them.
Toss the sugar-flour mixture with the cherries until they are thoroughly coated. Place into unbaked pastry-lined pie pan. Cover pie with crumb topping
Crumb Topping
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup all purpose unbleached flour
½ cup (1 stick) chilled butter
Mix together until crumbly, and spread to cover top of pie.
Bake in hot oven (425 degrees F.) about 40 minutes. If the edges look like they are browning too quickly, cover loosely with a strip of aluminum foil.
I usually dig into this long before it’s actually cool enough to eat! This can be eaten with some kind of whipped topping, ice cream, rich coffee cream, or creamer, or just alone! I promise you will not be disappointed!
A hui hou!
Nathan – thanks for your comments! It helps keep me going 🙂 I’m not sure when I’ll get back to Florida. It’s so hard to get away when you have an acre that needs to be watered, chickens and cat that need to be fed, and a house to watch after. I hope you get here to Hawaii someday to see it all!
Aloha,
Lucy
What? No lard in the pie crust? (smile) Actually my mother made her pie crust with Crisco, but my aunt always insisted on using lard. Seriously though, I look forward to trying this recipe.
This recipe just melts in your mouth – no lard or Crisco needed! LOL I think you’ll like it – super easy.