Cherry Pie with Lattice Top Pie Crust

Sandra Lee, you make things easy- thanks for this recipe. It’s my favorite berry pie that you can make in 5 minutes if you have a pre-made crust. You can use cherry or strawberry pie filling as the base- which gives us our sweetness and gooey sauce. By adding the frozen berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries) we get that tartness to balance the flavors making it taste like a fresh berry pie. Don’t worry about adding the grape/apple juice, I tend to skip that, but if you have it on hand, go for it. One bite makes you think its summer time. Tastes unbeatable when slightly warmed from the oven and topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Here’s the pie crust recipe I make to go along with it- one of the best pie crust recipes I’ve found. It has 5 stars and 356 reviews. It rolls out easily and bakes up flaky but keeps its shape. I make it in my food processor- once it forms into a ball its ready and perfect. Cook the bottom crust before you add your filling (and top crust) so it doesn’t come out soggy or raw. You can also make a pretty lattice top which tastes great with your ice cream.

Pie Crust IV
Recipe from Jan Bittner at Allrecipes.com

1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold water

Directions

Mix shortening, flour, and salt together with a fork or a pastry blender until very crumbly. Add as much water as needed to hold together, and mix lightly with a fork.
Roll gently on a floured pastry cloth to about an inch larger than pie plate. Fold carefully in half, lift to pie plate, and unfold. Press into pan. For a single-crust pie, trim with a small knife to about 1/2 inch beyond rim. Fold up, and pinch so edge of pie is raised from rim.

Cherry Pie
Recipe adapted from Sandra Lee

1 can cherry pie filling
12 ounces frozen mixed berries, drained
1 tablespoon juice (apple, cherry, etc) or water if N/A
1 box ready made pie crust or above recipe
Flour, for dusting
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine cherry pie filling, mixed berries and kirsch. Set aside.

Gently unfold bottom crust onto floured pie dish. Pour berry filling into unbaked crust. Using a pie pan as a guide, cut a circle for the top crust from a sheet of pie crust. Use a lattice cutter to create a pattern, and generously flour each piece so that pieces of lattice do not stick. Top pie with lattice strips and flute the edge of the pie with a fork. Brush top crust with beaten egg and sprinkle lightly with sugar. Bake for 40 minutes, or until bubbling appears in the middle of pie. Cover pie with aluminum foil halfway through baking. Let sit for 20 minutes before serving.