As simple as cherry pie!

Today, I was really happy that I talked to my Amma, Acha  after a long time. Well, to be precise, we've been talking everyday, but they were away in Guruvayur attending a family friend's wedding and they were too busy to talk for too long. After having a nice long conversation with both sets of my parents I was in the best of spirits. I just wanted to make an american classic, and since I was in a pie mood, I settled upon cherry pie. I actually had a lot of apples after Vishu, and I probably should've made apple pie, which is my Acha's favourite dessert in the whole world, but I have made apple pie so many times in the past and I wanted to try something different. This cherry pie is beautifully tart and I thought it came out pretty well, so I decided to share the pie with Chris and Ami too. I think they enjoyed the pie. Since the pie is slightly tart, it's best served with a nice big dollop of whipped cream or ice-cream. It's a really simple recipe and I hope you like it:

Preparation & Cooking Time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 2 and a 1/2 cups of flour
• 1 tbsp of sugar
• 1 cup of butter
  
• 5 tbsps of cold water

Filling:

• 2 cups plus 1 tbsp of sugar
• 3 tbsps of cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp of salt
• 5 cups whole pitted sour cherries
  

Directions:

Crust:

• Mix the sugar and flour together.

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• Add the butter, and mix till you get a crumbly mixture.
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• Add water and knead well till you get a dough; pack and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
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Filling:

• Add the sugar to the cherries.
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• Mix in the corn starch.
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• Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit or 200 degrees Celsius.
  
• Divide the dough into two and roll the first half out; Fold it gently and place into a 9 inch dish. Then unfold gently and cut off the rough edges that spill out on the sides. The folding only ensures that you don't break or tear the dough while transferring it into the pie dish.
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• Pour the filling in.
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• Roll the remaining dough out and cut into flat strips.
• Create a lattice by layering the strips over the pie.
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• Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Cool before cutting and serve with a big dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice-cream.
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• Done!