Cherry Pie

I love making pies....but I've never made a cherry pie! I found some beautiful fresh cherries at the market and decided to go for it!

Basic Pie Dough:

2 1/2 c all-purpose flour

Fine sea salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes, plus more for greasing

1/3 c ice-cold water

Put the flour and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the cold butter cubes and pulse a few times until the mixture begins to become mealy and the butter forms plainly visible pea-size nuggets
Dissolve 1/2 teaspoon salt in the water. With the motor running, pour in the water and let mix, just until the dough pulls together. Do not over-mix the dough. If it appears dry and is not holding together, add a few additional tablespoons of water.

Form the dough into a ball, flatten, and wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to use.
Lightly flour a board and a rolling pin and unwrap the dough. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces and keep the second piece refrigerated. ***Cooks note: the key is to keep it cold!***

Roll out dough into rounds about 1/8 th of an inch thick. Lay first round into the pie plate and make sure it reaches the edges neatly.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375*F.

For the filling:

2 lbs cherries, pitted

1/2 c sugar

2 tbsp cornstarch

Zest of 1/2 lemon

Fill the pie with filling. Remove second round from refrigerator and roll out to a circle larger than the pie plate (about 1 in overhang). Decorate pie top as you see fit. I used little cherry pie crust cutters, but a few slits in the crust will do. (This allows the pie to cook properly and release steam) Lay top crust on top of filling and seam all edges with a pinch pattern. Bake for about 45 minutes or until crust is brown and juices thicken.