The recipe for this pie is classic -- it is from the Joy of Cooking. What makes this pie special is that the sour cherries must be stolen from a back alley. I recommend early morning hours for your theiving, especially if your target tree is located in the yard of a rental inhabited by undergrads. After your acquisition, you should rinse the cherries, and then pit them. If you don't have a cherry pitter, forceps or small tweezers will work well too. Pitted cherries can be frozen in four cup portions for later use.
9" pie pan
2 pie crusts
4 C fresh sour cherries
2 2/3 tsp quick-cooking tapioca (or cornstarch)
1 1/3 C sugar
2 drops almond extract or 2 Tbsp kirsh
2T butter
-Add the tapioca or cornstarch to the cherries and let sit for 15 minutes.
-Place the bottom pie crust in the pie pan.
-Then add the sugar and almond extract or kirsh to the cherries.
-Pour the cherry mixture into the pie crust.
-Cut the butter into small pieces and dot the fruit with the butter.
-Cover the cherries with the second pie crust. Impress your friends by creating a lattice top or make a fancy design to vent. You may wish to make an aluminum foil shield for the easily-burned edge of the crust.
-Bake 10 mins at 450 then reduce to 350 for 40 mins longer or until golden brown. Your cherries should set up after the pie is cool as long as you bake until the filling is clear.
Enjoy the back alley pie, and be sure to use that label as often as possible.
-Jen
