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A beautiful Fresh Dark Cherry and Orange Pie is the perfect accompaniment to your next BBQ or any get-together.
I am a huge fan of cherries. In fact, when they are in season, I probably eat my weight in them….that is if I was 800 lbs, which thankfully, I am not. Anyway, the gist…I love cherries. So when the bumper crop comes on, it’s time to bust out a beautiful fresh cherry pie. Warning: NO cans of cherry pie filling were harmed in this recipe.
I highly recommend buying a nice cherry pitter. Some of them on the market are the pits (sorry, couldn’t help myself) and either A) don’t work or B) really don’t work. I bought mine eons ago from Pampered Chef and I know they don’t carry them anymore but investing in a decent one from a gourmet retailer (like Williams-Sonoma ) is probably going to be worth it in the long run. I like halving my cherries for pie, but if you love a big plump cherry, then by all means leave them whole.
There is something magical that happens when you add orange zest to pie. Believe it or not, it’s my favorite secret addition to my apple pies for the fall. The hint of citrus just makes everything pop. In a good way…a really good way.
Ok, let’s talk crust. You can get fancy pants with it and make star cutouts or not. You could also do lattice topped or even just a solid crust with some vents cut in the top. There’s no right or wrong way to do it, so let your imagination and cookie-cutters go wild. Ok, let’s get to the Fresh Dark Cherry & Orange Pie recipe, shall we?
Fresh Dark Cherry & Orange Pie
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 5 cups whole pitted dark sweet cherries cut in half (about 2 pounds)
- Zest of 1 orange
- 3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons 1/4 stick unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1 tablespoon about milk
Pie Crust
Instructions
- Position rack in lower third of the oven and preheat to 425°F. Whisk 1 cup sugar, cornstarch, and salt in large bowl. Toss cherries, orange zest, orange juice, and vanilla with sugar mixture and set aside.
- Roll out 1 pie crust disk on a floured surface to a 12-inch round. Transfer to a 9-inch pie plate. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch. Roll out second dough disk on floured surface to 12-inch round. Using a small star cookie cutter, cut out the dough leaving a 1-inch edge all the way around. Pour the cherry mixture into the dough-lined dish. Dot with butter. Place the star cut-out dough round on top. Fold bottom crust up over ends of strips and crimp edges with your fingertips to seal.
- Place pie on a rimmed baking sheet or over aluminum foil and bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven to 375°F. Bake about 1 hour more, or until cherry filling is bubbling and crust is golden brown, cover edges with foil if they are browning too quickly. Transfer pie to rack and cool completely before serving.
Nutrition
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Recipe By:
Heather is a recipe developer and content creator living in Vancouver, Washington. She started Farmgirl Gourmet in 2006, almost 20 years ago, as a way to share recipes with friends and family. Heather is also the co-founder of Spiceology , a unique spice company, which she started in 2013. She shares family friendly recipes for easy everyday meals with a gourmet twist.
you say one cup of what it is blank next to the one cup is it regular sugar
or powered sugar
Hi Daphne – great catch!! Thanks for letting me know that I missed adding the sugar to the recipe. Whoops!! It’s updated now. Happy baking. ~heather