The winner of the Central PA 4th Fest’s Great American Cherry Pie Contest

Julie Kwasnica’s Cherry Pie

Crust:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 sticks cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup solid vegetable shortening cut into small pieces
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

Note: All of the ingredients should be cold.

Put the flour, salt and sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Add the pieces of butter and shortening and process for approximately 10 seconds or just until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

Add the ice water through the feed tube with the machine running, just until the dough holds together without being wet or sticky. Do not process for more than 30 seconds.

Divide the dough in half, and press each half into a flat circle. Wrap each circle in plastic wrap and chill for at least one hour.

Lightly grease a 9-inch pie plate. On a floured surface, roll each dough circle to a thickness of 1/8 inch. Place the bottom crust in the pie plate and press it into the bottom edges and along the sides. Cover with plastic wrap, and chill until ready to use.

Filling:
2 pounds pitted Bing cherries
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 drops red food coloring

Combine all of the ingredients and let stand 15 minutes.

Assembly:
2 tablespoons butter
1 beaten egg
2 tablespoons heavy cream
Sugar (to sprinkle over pie)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Pour the filling into bottom crust and dot with butter that has been cut into small pieces. Cover the filling with the top crust, and then trim the overhanging dough with scissors. Press along the edge to seal the crust. Cut a few steam vents in the top crust.

Combine egg with the heavy cream. Brush a little on top of the pie with a pastry brush and sprinkle lightly with sugar.

Bake for 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for approximately 25 to 35 minutes, or until juices bubble through the vents. If the pie browns too quickly, cover loosely with foil.

Let cool completely on a rack before serving.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 29th, 2006 at 7:18 am and is filed under Desserts, Fruits, Food News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.