Fall=Pie Baking Time!!

Last Sunday was a beautiful fall day here in Michigan. My daughter and I decided to spend the afternoon baking pie. We started with a tart cherry pie. My daughter thought it would be fun to paint on the crust with food coloring. I think it turned out really nice. It was delicious. The recipe follows at the end of the pictures. Next we decided on a fresh peach pie. I was at the farmers market to get ready for Judy's Farmers Market Challenge http://squirrelqueen2.blogspot.com/2009/09/september-farmers-market-challenge.html#comments this weekend and I picked up some fresh peaches there. We made a fresh raspberry sauce to go on it. My daughter did the crust and again I think she made it look pretty.

Cherry Pie:

2 (16-ounce) cans tart cherries

1 cup sugar, divided use

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon butter or margarine

1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1 tablespoon milk

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Pie crust for double

Line a pie plate with 1/2 crust rolled out or use already made pie crust.

Preheat oven to 425°F.
Drain cherries, reserving 3/4 cup of liquid; set cherries aside.
In a saucepan combine reserved cherry juice, 1/4 cup sugar, cornstarch and salt. Cook over low heat until thickened, stirring constantly. Add remaining 3/4 cup sugar and cook until glossy.
Remove from heat and stir in butter, lemon juice and almond extract. Gently fold in cherries; allow to cool.
Spoon mixture into unbaked pie crust. Cut remaining pie crust into strips and form a lattice on top of pie. Seal and flute edges; cover edges with aluminum foil. Brush lattice top with milk and sprinkle with sugar. You can also just leave a full top as above and decorate it.
Bake 15 minutes, reduce temperature to 350°F. Remove aluminum foil and bake 25 minutes or until golden brown and cherries are nice and bubbly. Cool completely on a wire rack. Enjoy with ice cream or just by itself.

Peach Pie:

7 cups peaches, peeled, cored and sliced( I mixed white peaches and nectarines with regular peaches for variety)

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon butter

1 large egg, beaten
Crust for a double pie

Line pie plate with 1/2 rolled out crust.

Mix peaches, brown sugar, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon and salt together until well combined. Pour into pie shell and dot with butter.
Make a lattice top or full crust whichever you prefer. Brush with beaten egg and if you use the full crust be sure to make some slits in center for venting.
Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until crust is golden and bubbly. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack before.
Enjoy.

Have a nice week everyone and bake some pie!! Anne