I love an easy “Valentine’s” themed goodie for after school. This is not only delicious but quick! Cherry-Almond -hey you can’t go wrong with that, AND I can’t mess it up. The more imperfections the better! Just the way I like it.
HOW IT’S DONE:
Jump to RecipeFull disclosure: I have worked my pants off on perfecting my pie crust recipe. I lost count after 7 revisions, but, I assure you the fam was enjoying every “redo” and “ehhh…not-right-yet” recipe. Also, I will NEVER go back to canned pie filling ever again. Sorry, but not sorry this was a game-changer.
I’m guilty of saying this jar had been in my pantry for uuhhhhhhh…a long time. I was waiting for a day to put them on ice cream or in a fun drink for the kids. They obsess over cherries. You know, I think of them as homework motivation. For now, it is the new pie filling recipe experiment.
Put the whole jar, including the juice in the saucepan.
Gather the sugar, corn starch, salt and almond extract.
Bring to a boil. Then add the sugar…
Add corn starch and a dash of SALT. Salt will cut the sweetness just right.
Reduce the heat to low, let it cool. It will start to thicken, then stir in the almond extract.
Roll out your pie crust. If it tends to stick, then use a sharp knife to gently work it off in one piece. Of course, you don’t have to make this yourself. There is always store bought crust waiting to be devoured as well. Although if you have time, it is totally worth the effort. You may never go back to store bought pie crust again for this either!
Put room temperature filling in the center of the dough. Fold the edges, make into a heart shape. Hint: the edges will need to be strong or it will leak out the side. Use the top indention for one of the strongest sides.
Cook at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Ta-dahhhhhhh!!! good luck only having one slice. hehe.
I hope you enjoy it as much as we did! The next batch I do will add a cream cheese filling. And, I can’t wait. AH!!
Lisa
Cherry-Almond Galette Filling
Equipment
- baking sheet
- parchment paper
Ingredients
- 1 large jar Maraschino cherries (I used dark cherries) or 2 of the small jars
- 1 cup sugar
- ¼ cup corn starch
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tsp almond extract
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, dump the whole jar of cherries. Bring to a small boil.
- Mix in sugar and corn starch. Reduce heat to low. Add a pinch of salt.
- When cooled, fold in the almond extract. Add to the pie crust when room temp.
Pie Crust
Equipment
- food processor or pastry blender
- plastic wrap
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups flour
- 3 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter cut into cubes
- ¼ cup shortening
Instructions
- Layout two long stretches of plastic wrap on the countertop that crosses like a "t", about 2 feet long each. This is what you'll be putting the crumbly dough into.
- In your food processor (which makes it all much easier), add flour, salt, and sugar. Pulse a couple of times to blend.
- While blending add small pieces of cold butter and shortening until it turns into a sandy consistency.
- Add up to ½ cup of ICE water (measurement does not include the ice) while blending. Go slow, you may not need to use all of it. You are looking for a coarse crumble. To test when it is ready, you should be able to pinch it and make it into a ball. Do not over blend.
- Turn the dough into your plastic wrap. Pull the sides of the wrap and shape into a flat ball. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- When ready to use, lightly flour a surface. Divide dough into two, make two dough balls. With your rolling pin, start in the middle of the dough, and work your way out. Turn the rolling pin to evenly flatten making it into a circle as best as possible. You want it 1/4th inch evenly thick. Gently lay into the pie pan or tart pan your using. If you are having trouble getting it off your surface, use a sharp knife to gently scrape it off. If you are needing to precook it, cook at 375 for 15-18 minutes.
- tips: make sure your butter and water are cold, cold, cold when blending. Also, it will need to rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Over 2 hours is ideal.
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