Deep Dish Cherry Pie Recipes

Steps:

• Roll out the pie dough to 1/8th-inch thick and chill on parchment lined sheet pans. Cut out disks of dough 1-inch bigger than your ovenproof 8 to 12 ounce crocks. Keep chilled until ready to use.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Drain the cherry juices into a medium saucepan; you should have about a cup of juice. Add the cornstarch, sugar, ginger, and lemon juice and whisk to dissolve the cornstarch then bring it to a simmer over medium heat whisking all the while. When thickened, turn off the heat, stir in the cherries.
• Pour the cherry filling into the ovenproof dishes and set aside to cool slightly. Carefully place the rolled-out disks on top and ease them into the dishes so it doesn't hang over the edge. Brush each disk with a little heavy cream and then sprinkle lightly with 2 tablespoons of sugar. With the tips of a pair of scissors, snip a X vent hole in the top of each crust.
• Place the pies on a sheet pan, to catch any juices that boil over. Bake until the crust is golden brown and the juices are bubbling at the vents, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Let cool to room temperature. Serve at room temperature with vanilla ice cream.
• In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer), mix the flour, salt, and sugar for 1 minute. Add the butter and mix just until you have a crumbly, sandy mixture. You should still be able to see the pieces of butter.
• In a small bowl, stir the water and vinegar together. With the mixer running at medium speed, drizzle in the water-vinegar mixture and mix just until a dough forms. You should still see small bits of butter.
• Turn out onto a work surface, divide the dough in half, and shape into round, flat disks. Wrap separately in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes before using. (Or, refrigerate up to 48 hours or freeze up to 1 month before using. If frozen, let thaw in the refrigerator overnight before rolling out.)
• When the time comes to roll out the dough, let the dough warm up for a few minutes at room temperature. Dust a work surface with just a few tablespoons of flour and keep some extra flour at hand. If you like, you can roll out the dough between two sheets of waxed paper (flouring the bottom sheet and the top of the dough before rolling), which makes it much easier to transfer to the pan later on. However, you won't be able to check the progress of the dough as easily. It's entirely up to you.
• Sprinkle a little flour on top of the dough and start rolling outward from the center with quick, light strokes. Don't worry if the edges split a bit; concentrate on getting a good circle going from the center. Lift up and rotate the dough 1/4 turn every minute or so to help ensure even rolling. The dough should feel smooth and soft; some say it should feel like the inside of your forearm. If it gets sticky, sprinkle on a bit more flour, but don't do this more than two or three times; the dough will absorb too much flour. Instead, put it back in the fridge for 15 minutes to firm the butter up. Keep rolling until the circle is at least 2 inches larger than your pan (for example, 11 inches wide for a 9-inch pie pan), or 3 inches larger for deep-dish pies.
• Set your pie or tart pan nearby. We always use heavy aluminum pans, because glass pans seem to bake the crust too fast. However, we know that the advantage of glass is that you can easily check the color of the crust. Again, it's up to you. Either choice will work.
• To transfer the crust to the pan, we find it easiest to roll a finished crust up onto the rolling pin, then gently unroll it in the pan. Or, you can fold it gently in quarters, lift it up, position the center point on the center of the pan, and unfold it into the pan. If using waxed paper, peel off the top layer, turn the crust gently into the pan, and peel off the remaining paper. Make sure that the dough is allowed to settle completely into the pan.
• Don't stretch and press the dough into the corners; stretched dough will likely shrink back when you bake it. Instead, lift the edges of the crust to let it settle down into the corners. If the dough tears a bit, don't be concerned; it will patch easily. Using scissors or a sharp knife, trim the dough to within 3/4 inch of the rim. Use any extra scraps to patch the crust, pressing with your fingers (wet them if necessary) or set aside.
• For a double-crust pie: Leave the edges of the bottom crust hanging over the rim. Roll out the second piece of dough into a circle about 11 inches in diameter. Line a sheet pan with parchment or waxed paper. Roll the dough up onto the rolling pin, then unroll it onto the sheet pan.
• Chill the finished crust or crusts for 20 to 30 minutes before filling the pie. When the bottom crust is filled, rest the top crust on top and pinch the edges together, turning them under all the way around. To decorate the rim, just press it all around with the back of a fork. For a slightly more advanced look, press the thumb and forefinger of one hand together. Use them to gently push the thick dough rim outward, while pushing inward with the forefinger of the other hand, so that they intersect in a "V" with the dough in between. Repeat all around the rim to make a wavy edge.
• For a prebaked pie or tart crust (blind baking): Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line the inside of the chilled crust with aluminum foil (don't turn it down over the rim, but leave the extra sticking up so that you have something to hold on to). Fill the foil all the way up to the top of the shell with pie weights or dried beans. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until dry and beginning to turn "blond". Lift the foil and weights out of the shell and bake another 10 to 15 minutes, checking frequently to prevent over baking, until medium brown.
• Yield: 2 crusts Preparation time: 15 minutes plus rolling and shaping Cooking time: 30 minutes Ease of preparation: moderate
• Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, "Butter Sugar Flour Eggs" by Gale Gand, Rick Tramonto, Julia Moskin: Clarkson N. Potter Publishers, 1999

Steps:

• In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer), cream the butter until smooth. Add the confectioners' sugar and mix. Add the eggs and mix. Add the flour and mix until almost incorporated. Add the hazelnuts and mix just until smooth, being careful not to over mix the dough.
• Form the dough into 2 disks and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill at least 2 hours or overnight. If the dough is refrigerated overnight, remove it from the refrigerator 30 minutes before using. Roll out both disks, cut them out a little bigger than the size of your individual baking dishes, and chill while you make the filling.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Drain the cherry juices into a medium saucepan; you should have about a cup of juice. Add the cornstarch, sugar, ginger, if using, and lemon juice, and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the cornstarch. When thickened, turn off the heat, stir in the cherries, and set aside to cool slightly.
• Divide the cherry filling among the baking dishes. Carefully place the rolled-out crusts on top. To decorate them, brush the surface of the crust with milk, sprinkle lightly with sugar and use a sharp small knife to make a cross hatching pattern, cutting one vent hole in the center. You may also cut out strips from the leftover dough, and make designs or cherries from it, and adhere them to the top with a little water. Then wash with milk and sprinkle with sugar.
• Place the pies on a sheet pan to catch any juices that boil over. Bake until the crust is golden brown and the juices are bubbling at the vents, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool to room temperature. Serve at room temperature.

Steps:

• 1. NOTE: BAKES at 425*, & 350* Use a deep dish pie plate for this recipe (mine is 10"x 2.5") If you do not have a large pie plate, I would opt for a 'cobbler' treatment of these ingredients in a 9x9x2 glass pan. CRUST: Combine flour & (chilled) butter until crumbly. Stir in: ground nuts (prefer pecans) & orange zest (from one large fruit or two cuties). Add 1 Tbl vinegar; use apple cider if its on hand) to egg yolk, stir both into crumbs. Add ice water 1 Tbl/ time until dough is firm.
• 2. Divide dough into 1/3, 2/3 portions. Roll/press larger portion of dough to cover bottom & sides of pan. Pre-bake for 10 min at 425* Set aside. Roll top portion into desired shape: full crust or lattice (set away from heat).
• 3. FILLING: Drain sweet cherries (in syrup), reserve juice. Drain tart cherries, reserve juice. Add all cherries to bowl along with whole can of pie filling. Stir triple sec & almond into this bowl. Set aside.
• 4. Reduce sweet cherry syrup to half over med heat. Will bubble, so make sure pan/ bowl is larger than 4 cups to allow for this w/o spill over. Stir 2 Tbl cornstarch into 2 Tbl of tart cherry juice (from can) and add to reduced syrup. Stir constantly over heat until nicely thickened.
• 5. Fold cherries into this and blend gently. This mixture should include all of the filling ingredients and should be a rich red color and cling well to spoon.
• 6. FINISH: Add filling to bottom crust. Lay top crust over filling. Brush w/ egg white, esp around edges to seal to bottom crust. If using solid/whole top crust, remember to cut several vents. If lattice, no worries. Egg white on top can be combined w/ or sprinkled w/ a little sugar (@ 1 Tbl) for nice finish. This step just adds a nice golden color.
• 7. Bake at 425* for first 10 min. Reduce to 350* for remaining 25-30 min. Remove when top crust is golden & filling is bubbly.

Steps:

• 1. NOTE: BAKES at 425*, & 350* Use a deep dish pie plate for this recipe (mine is 10"x 2.5") If you do not have a large pie plate, I would opt for a 'cobbler' treatment of these ingredients in a 9x9x2 glass pan. CRUST: Combine flour & (chilled) butter until crumbly. Stir in: ground nuts (prefer pecans) & orange zest (from one large fruit or two cuties). Add 1 Tbl vinegar; use apple cider if its on hand) to egg yolk, stir both into crumbs. Add ice water 1 Tbl/ time until dough is firm.
• 2. Divide dough into 1/3, 2/3 portions. Roll/press larger portion of dough to cover bottom & sides of pan. Pre-bake for 10 min at 425* Set aside. Roll top portion into desired shape: full crust or lattice (set away from heat).
• 3. FILLING: Drain sweet cherries (in syrup), reserve juice. Drain tart cherries, reserve juice. Add all cherries to bowl along with whole can of pie filling. Stir triple sec & almond into this bowl. Set aside.
• 4. Reduce sweet cherry syrup to half over med heat. Will bubble, so make sure pan/ bowl is larger than 4 cups to allow for this w/o spill over. Stir 2 Tbl cornstarch into 2 Tbl of tart cherry juice (from can) and add to reduced syrup. Stir constantly over heat until nicely thickened.
• 5. Fold cherries into this and blend gently. This mixture should include all of the filling ingredients and should be a rich red color and cling well to spoon.
• 6. FINISH: Add filling to bottom crust. Lay top crust over filling. Brush w/ egg white, esp around edges to seal to bottom crust. If using solid/whole top crust, remember to cut several vents. If lattice, no worries. Egg white on top can be combined w/ or sprinkled w/ a little sugar (@ 1 Tbl) for nice finish. This step just adds a nice golden color.
• 7. Bake at 425* for first 10 minute Reduce to 350* for remaining 25-30 minute Remove when top crust is golden & filling is bubbly.