Cherry Pie

My cousin, Hilary, is going back to school next week, and my aunt and uncle invited us for dinner.  I wanted to make something summery (is that a word?) to take.  Matt suggested cherry pie.  I couldn't find a recipe I loved so I (nervously) tried my own.  Cherry almond pie.  I used an almond crumb crust from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook and used two bags of frozen cherries, a few teaspoons of cornstarch, a half cup of sugar and a teaspoon of almond extract.  I put all of the ingredients in a sauce pan and heated until it started to get thick.  Then I poured it in the shell and topped with the remainder of the crumbs.  Then baked at 350 degrees for an hour.  I was nervous to take it, but it turned out great!  This gave me a little more confidece to try my hand at creating new recipes.  There was only one small piece of pie left at the end of the night, so I'll take that as a good sign.  Very summer, not too sweet, and perfectly baked.  Delicious!

I started to put the crumb topping on when I realized that I should probably snap a picture of the filling.

Look at that delicious filling! 

That beautiful pie dish was a wedding shower gift from Hilary herself...

The crumb topping really made the pie.  I think this might become my go-to pie recipe from now on...

See you at Thanksgiving, Hilary!  We love you and will miss you!