Cherry Streusel Pie

I love cherries.  Not fond of pitting them, but why else do you own a cherry-pitter?  They're fabulous little gadgets that also work on olives.  It's silly, but I like the little x mark they leave.

So, I have a pie crust and extra streusel topping in the freezer and a bag of cherries in the fridge.  Doesn't take a genius to see where this is going.  And, if you don't mind the half hour it takes to do the pitting, this is a very easy dessert to prepare.

1 Pie Crust for 9" pie
1 C streusel topping
1/2 C quick oats
1 Tb brown sugar
5 C cherries, measured after pitting
1/2 C sugar
1/4 C corn starch
1 Tb lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tb butter

1.  To pit cherries:  Scrub kitchen sink clean and fill halfway with cold water.  Dump in cherries.  One at a time, place cherries in hand-pitter, stem side down, and punch away.  Once you have 5 cups of pitted cherries, pull out sink drain just enough to let out water.  The stems and pits will remain in the sink and are easy to throw out.  Moving on...

2.  Taste one cherry of average darkness to adjust sugar level.  If tart, increase sugar to 3/4 C.  If very sweet, lower to 1/3 C.  In a bowl, toss together cherries, sugar, corn starch, lemon juice, and salt.  Allow to rest in the fridge for at least several hours or overnight, so the natural juices can mingle with the dry ingredients.

3. Preheat oven to 350º.  Set crust dough in a pie pan and set on a rimmed cookie sheet that has been lined with foil (in case anything boils over).  Mix together generic streusel topping, oatmeal, and brown sugar and set aside.  Pour cherry mixture into pie shell.  Dot top with bits of butter.  Sprinkle streusel evenly on top.   Bake for 40-50 minutes, until brown and crispy and the cherries are boiling in their own juice.  Allow to cool slowly to room temperature before serving.  Goes well with a side of vanilla ice cream.

Makes 1 pie

Difficulty rating  :-0