Late Summer Letters — the journal

She’s the Goose

From the Oven · Summer

The Cherry Pie That Started It All

Tart cherries, a whisper of almond, an afternoon with nowhere else to be.

1 hr + coolingOne 9-inch pieOven 400°F, then 350°F

It is not a difficult pie, only an unhurried one — the kind of thing worth doing on a quiet day. The first pie photographed for the Ledger.

Ingredients

For the filling

  • 5 cups tart cherries (fresh or frozen)
  • ¾ cup sugar (up to 1 cup for a sweeter pie)
  • 3 Tbsp cornstarch
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  • ½ tsp almond extract
  • 1 Tbsp butter, for dotting
  • 1 egg, beaten, for the wash

The base

  • House Pie Crust, made and chilled ahead

Method

  1. 01

    Roll out the bottom crust and settle it into the pie dish.

  2. 02

    Combine the cherries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and almond extract.

  3. 03

    Pour the filling into the crust.

  4. 04

    Dot the top with butter.

  5. 05

    Roll out the top crust, lay it over the filling, trim, and crimp the edges.

  6. 06

    Cut a few steam vents, then brush with the egg wash.

  7. 07

    Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes.

  8. 08

    Reduce to 350°F and bake 35–40 minutes more, until the juices bubble thickly through the vents.

Notes

Let it cool completely before slicing. The almond is quiet but it’s the whole secret — don’t leave it out.