Cherry Pie With Almond Crumble Topping

Mmmm, a perfect breakfast of leftover pie!

This is a basic cherry pie, but instead of a top crust I used an almond crumble topping. The topping is from the King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking book, in the recipe for Our Favorite Cherry Pie. I added toasted almonds to the crumble for an extra nutty kick.

Nothing warms my pie heart more than hearing people ask for a second slice! This recipe's definitely a keeper.

What you need:

Dough for a single-crust pie, chilled

Filling:

5-6 cups fresh or frozen cherries. If using frozen, thaw and drain completely

1 cup sugar (adjust amount depending on how sweet your cherries are!)

2 tsp cornstarch

Topping:

3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

2/3 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

1/2 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp almond extract

1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

small handful chopped toasted almonds (optional)

What you do:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, toss together the cherries, sugar, and cornstarch. With fruit pies you can add anywhere from 1/2 to 2 cups of sugar, and it really depends on how sweet the fruit is already, and how sweet or tart you like your pies to be. If in doubt, add a smaller amount and taste it. I tend to like my fruit pies on the less-sweet pie, but it's obviously a matter of personal taste.

Combine all the topping ingredients except the butter in a small bowl. Work in the butter with your fingertips until it's nice and crumbly.

Roll out your pie dough and place in a greased pie dish. Use a slotted spoon to scoop the cherries in to the crust. Spread the crumble topping over the whole thing. Bake on the bottom rack for 45 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the fruit is bubbly. Let the pie cool for an hour before slicing.

Oh My God Cherry Pie

I know it's a little late in the year for cherry pie, but this one is too good not to write about! I made it for a friend's birthday last month, and it was truly amazing. It's no ordinary cherry pie!

Ingredients:

6 cups of pitted sweet cherries

1 cup of hazelnuts

1/2 cup of sugar

1 scant teaspoon each of cardamom and cloves

10 oz. goat cheese

2 heaping tablespoons of cornstarch

1 double-crust pie dough

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Lightly toast the hazelnuts, then use a kitchen towel to rub off any loose skins. Chop them up!

In a bowl, combine the cherries, nuts, sugar, spices, and corn starch. Crumble the goat cheese with your fingers and stir it all together. Taste it to make sure the sugar level is to your liking. The spices might seem a little intense, but don't worry - it'll mellow out in the oven and turn out just right.

Generously grease a pie dish, and roll out your pie dough. I always use Cook's Illustrated vodka pie crust, but use whatever kind you like. Spoon in your incredible cherry filling until you think the pie can't take anymore. Roll out the top crust, cut any shapes into it you like (or do a lattice!), and carefully place it on top. Pinch your edges together, then trim off the excess dough with a butter knife.

If you have a lot of leftover filling and crust, like I did, you can make a bonus pie! Smoosh all your dough scraps together, and roll it out. You don't have to make it very thin or nicely shaped, unless you want to. Grease the bottom of a baking dish and put your dough in there. Pile up all your extra filling on one half of the dough, then fold the other half over and pinch it shut, like a cherry calzone. I suppose this is technically a large turnover, but whatever. Cut a slit or two in the top so that steam can escape, and it is ready to bake alongside your primary pie. Hooray!

Bake your pie (or pies!) at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking until the crust is golden brown - usually another 40 minutes or so. It won't get all bubbly, but the cheese will be melty. Mmmmmm.

This is the really hard part - you have to wait before cutting into the pie! I know you want to eat it RIGHT NOW, but if you cut it open there will be mushy gooey pie guts everywhere getting your crust all soggy. It will still be delicious, but it will be better if you wait 45 minutes. Think of it as an exercise in self-control.

I used fresh cherries that were very sweet, hence the small amount of sugar. If your cherries are tart, you may want to increase the sugar content, though of course it depends on how sweet or tart you want your pie to be. I have no idea how it would turn out with frozen cherries. If you try it, I would love to hear how it tasted! I may want to have this pie again in the winter, so if I make it with frozen fruit I will report back here.