Classic Cherry Pie

I’m not sure whether it’s coincidence or consequence that June-born Jon loves cherries, but every year he’d rather have cherry pie than cake. The year Laurel was born, in my sleep deprived, frantically trying-to-bake-while-on-a-conference-call state, I dropped my fully assembled pie as I tried to put it in the oven. I thus was too traumatized last year to try again, but when Bon Appétit’s June 2008 issue featured this Classic Sour Cherry Pie With Lattice Crust recipe, I knew it was time to give cherry pie another go. Plus, Laurel was sure to keep reminding me to use both hands when putting the pie in the oven.

The recipe is by dessert maven Lori Longbotham, whose Luscious Lemon Desserts and Luscious Chocolate Desserts cookbooks we also own. A cherry pitter makes quick work of fresh cherries (or go ahead and use the pitted, jarred Morello cherries from Trader Joe’s – drain them and use the higher lemon juice content suggested for sweet cherries), and while people often are intimidated by homemade crust, with a Cuisinart, it takes about one minute to knock together pie crust dough and another few minutes to roll it out once chilled. I didn’t have a fluted pastry wheel to cut the lattice crust but it still looked fantastic with a straight knife cut. Not that any of us were even paying attention to the aesthetics after taking a bite of the divine crust and filling.

Image credit: James Wojcik, from Bon Appétit feature