Cherry Almond Pie

All you need is a damn fine cup of coffee and a big slice of this Cherry Almond Pie to get your day off to a perfect start or finish! 

Cherry Almond Pie | girlinthelittleredkitchen.com

Who’s watching the new episodes of Twin Peaks?

Thoughts?

Confused? Intrigued? Obsessed? Craving coffee and cherry pie? All of the above?

I was never a big Twin Peaks fan, enjoyed the first season and barely got through the second.  Things got a little too wild and weird from me – and this is coming from a gal that loves things all sci-fi-y and fantasy (within reason on that one!).  However, there’s the part in me that couldn’t resist watching it, plus my husband was invested because they film where my in-laws live!

I’ve been to the R.R. diner! I had breakfast there! I also had breakfast the lodge and the Roadhouse, which really is called the Roadhouse, but looks nothing like that on the inside.  In fact, if you ever do venture to that part of Washington State, I highly recommend eating at the Roadhouse. You want some damn fine food? You go there and make sure to grab a bloody mary while you’re at it.

So we are watching the new season and there are always a range of emotions at throughout each episode and usually confusion at the end.  I can’t wait to see how the season will end.

Cherry Almond Pie | girlinthelittleredkitchen.com

All this Twin Peaks viewing had me craving some cherry pie, which is not a food I usually crave.

I like pie but I make one about once or twice a year.  It’s not one of my standard go-to foods when I crave something sweet.

I just happened to have pounds and pounds of fresh cherries sitting in my refrigerator after a massive cherry picking expedition in early July and while I love snacking on cherries, there was just still no way the two of us would get through them all before they would go bad.  Cherry Pie was clearly the answer!

Cherries | girlinthelittleredkitchen.com

I wanted to do something slightly different than your standard sour cherry pie and what goes better with cherries than almond?

I had a tube of almond paste sitting in my pantry and rolled it out into a disc to fit perfectly in the bottom of the pie.  The great thing about adding a round of almond paste to a pie that has a tendency to be juicy and sometimes soup, it prevents soggy bottom syndrome.  It’s the perfect barrier between that crisp bottom crust and the rest of the pie.

Now I’ll be honest, I loved the flavor but it is very sweet. My husband thought it was great as it was.  I ended up using half sour and have sweet cherries because that’s what I had.  I’ll be providing a few variations on the recipe and I’ll let you decide how you want to precede forward.  If I was going to make this pie again though, it’d definitely be all sour, a thinner round of almond paste and half the sugar.

Still even with the original and a revamped version, I do think this is a pie that Dale Cooper would approve of!

Cherry Almond Pie | girlinthelittleredkitchen.com

Cherry Almond Pie
Save Recipe

Ingredients

    For the pie crust:
  • 2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoons cane sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 cup (8oz) unsalted cold butter, cut into cubes
  • 5-6 tablespoons ice water
  • For the pie (variation 1):
  • 4-5 cup pitted cherries (half sour, half sweet or all sour)
  • 3/4 cup cane sugar
  • juice from 1 lemon
  • pinch of salt
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 7oz almond paste
  • 1/4 cup sliced almonds
  • 1 large egg for egg wash
  • 1/3 cup sugar in the raw
  • Pie variation 2
  • 4-5 cups pitted cherries (half sour/sweet or all sour)
  • 1/3 cup sugar (go up to 1/2 cup for all sour)
  • juice from 1 lemon
  • pinch of salt
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 4 ounces almond paste
  • 1/4 cup sliced almonds
  • 1 large egg for egg wash
  • 1/3 cup sugar in the raw

Instructions

  1. In the bowl of your food processor add the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Pulse 1-2 times to combine.
  2. Add in the cubed butter and pulse until the butter is broken up into a combination of small and medium size pebbles.
  3. With the motor running, drizzle cold water from the top of the food processor until the dough starts to come together in a ball.
  4. Remove from the food processor and gently knead until all loose pieces of dough have formed into a ball. Flatten into a disc and wrap with plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour or overnight.
  5. While the dough is chilling, prepare your filling. In a medium bowl combine the pitted cherries, sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch and salt. Toss to combine and set aside.
  6. Heat your oven to 400 degrees F.
  7. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and cut in half using a bench scrapper. Place the half you are not using back in the fridge and roll the dough out into a circle on a well floured surface to fit a 9 inch pie pan.
  8. Place the dough into your pie tin, pressing down firm and leave the overhand to trim off later.
  9. Roll out the almond paste into a round to fit the bottom of the pie tin and place in the bottom and then add the filling.
  10. Place the pie in the refrigerator to keep cool and then remove the second half the dough.
  11. Feel free to roll out into a lattice pattern or fully cover the top of the pie. If covering the top, make sure to cut a round out for the steam to escape. Add the top dough to your pie, tucking in the sides, trimming the edges and leaving enough to flute if desired.
  12. Brush the top of the pie with the egg wash, sprinkle with almond slices and sugar in the raw.
  13. Place on a rimmed baking sheet, covered with foil or parchment paper and bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 to finish baking for 25 to 30 minutes or until the dough is a nice golden brown and the cherries have broken dough and are soft and juicy.
  14. The pie may look soupy as it comes out of the oven but will thicken up as it cools.
  15. Let cool completely before serving.
https://girlinthelittleredkitchen.com/2017/08/cherry-almond-pie/

Share:
Little Red Kitchen Bake Shop

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *