Monday is George Washington’s Birthday—how could there be any pie of the month besides cherry? When I was growing up we celebrated (meaning no school) Abraham Lincoln’s birthday on February 12th and Washington’s on the 22nd. Now we have one day to honor all the presidents and so it seems we have lost a little of the lore that went with these two great presidents’ birthdays.
Abraham Lincoln was born in a log cabin and was a rail splitter before he finally became a lawyer by walking miles through the back woods to get books which he brought back to study at night. And, of course, he finally became one of the greatest presidents our country has known, but I’m not aware of a pie that would be appropriate for his birthday.
I’m not sure whether the story of the cherry tree is actually truth or just a great story, but probably everyone knows that little George Washington, while using his new hatchet, cut down one of his father’s prize cherry trees. When confronted, George supposedly said, “I cannot tell a lie, Father, it was I”. I am glad that the story is well-known, true or not, because cherry pie is one of my top five favorites and I always have an excuse in February to make and eat one.
While researching cherry pie, I did come across quite a few variations on the tried and true, but none that sounded fantastic, so I am including a recipe for a standard cherry pie, along with one that, “I cannot tell a lie, is not JUST a cherry pie”. The second pie is made from red currants along with sweet cherries and incorporates maraschino cherry juice. It has an irresistible color—although the currant is very tart. If you don’t have frozen red currants around (I picked mine locally last summer), you can substitute sour red pie cherries, fresh or canned.
Lynette’s Standard Pie Crust
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
2/3 cup plus 2 Tbsp. cold vegetable shortening
5-7 Tbsp. ice water
Cut vegetable shortening into flour-salt mixture with a pastry blender until mixture looks like peas. Add ice water, one tablespoon at a time, tossing with a fork lightly until mixture begins to hold together. With your hand, quickly gather into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes to an hour.
Lightly flour a board and roll out half the dough into a circle to fit 9” pie pan with 1” overhang.
Put pie filling in dough and dot with butter. Roll out second half and fit over pie. Flute edges, vent and bake.
George Washington’s Cherry Pie
1 Standard Pie Crust recipe (above)
2 ½ Tbsp. minute tapioca
¼ tsp. salt
½ tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. lemon juice
½ tsp. red food color
1 ¼ cups sugar
1 Tbsp. butter
Drain cherries. Measure 1/3 cup liquid into mixing bowl. Add tapioca, salt, almond extract, lemon juice and food color, then cherries and sugar. Mix and let stand while making pastry. Fit pastry into bottom of 9” pie pan. Trim ½” beyond outer rim of pan. Fill with cherry mixture. Dot with butter. Fit top crust over pie and flute edges. Cut vents in top crust and brush crust with milk or cream and sprinkle with an additional 2 Tbsp. fine sugar. Place on foil covered rimmed baking sheet and put foil over edges to prevent too much browning. Bake at 425 for 30 minutes; remove foil on edges and bake an additional 15 minutes or until filling is bubbling through vent holes and crust is golden brown. Do not cut pie until cool.
I Cannot Tell A Lie Pie
2 cups pitted tart frozen cherries or 2 cups canned sour cherries, drained or 2 cups red currants, stemmed and washed
1 cup pitted frozen sweet cherries
½ cup tart cherry juice
1/3 cup maraschino cherry juice
1 cup sugar
2 1/3 Tbsp. minute tapioca
1 ½ tsp. cornstarch
Thaw cherries or currants if frozen. Drain off juices. Measure juices as above recipe and stir into mixture of sugar, tapioca and cornstarch in saucepan. Heat until thickening is complete. Boiling is not necessary. Set aside to cool. Add cherries to cooled, thickened juice. Pour filling into pastry-lined 9” pie pan. Roll out second half of pie crust and cut with fluted pastry cutter into 1”-wide strips. Weave strips over and under to form lattice-top crust. Brush top crust strips with milk or cream and sprinkle an additional tablespoon of fine sugar over. Cover edges with foil and bake on foil-lined, rimmed baking sheet for 40 minutes at 425 degrees.
Abraham Lincoln was born in a log cabin and was a rail splitter before he finally became a lawyer by walking miles through the back woods to get books which he brought back to study at night. And, of course, he finally became one of the greatest presidents our country has known, but I’m not aware of a pie that would be appropriate for his birthday.
I’m not sure whether the story of the cherry tree is actually truth or just a great story, but probably everyone knows that little George Washington, while using his new hatchet, cut down one of his father’s prize cherry trees. When confronted, George supposedly said, “I cannot tell a lie, Father, it was I”. I am glad that the story is well-known, true or not, because cherry pie is one of my top five favorites and I always have an excuse in February to make and eat one.
While researching cherry pie, I did come across quite a few variations on the tried and true, but none that sounded fantastic, so I am including a recipe for a standard cherry pie, along with one that, “I cannot tell a lie, is not JUST a cherry pie”. The second pie is made from red currants along with sweet cherries and incorporates maraschino cherry juice. It has an irresistible color—although the currant is very tart. If you don’t have frozen red currants around (I picked mine locally last summer), you can substitute sour red pie cherries, fresh or canned.
Lynette’s Standard Pie Crust
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
2/3 cup plus 2 Tbsp. cold vegetable shortening
5-7 Tbsp. ice water
Cut vegetable shortening into flour-salt mixture with a pastry blender until mixture looks like peas. Add ice water, one tablespoon at a time, tossing with a fork lightly until mixture begins to hold together. With your hand, quickly gather into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes to an hour.
Lightly flour a board and roll out half the dough into a circle to fit 9” pie pan with 1” overhang.
Put pie filling in dough and dot with butter. Roll out second half and fit over pie. Flute edges, vent and bake.
George Washington’s Cherry Pie
1 Standard Pie Crust recipe (above)
2 ½ Tbsp. minute tapioca
¼ tsp. salt
½ tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. lemon juice
½ tsp. red food color
1 ¼ cups sugar
1 Tbsp. butter
Drain cherries. Measure 1/3 cup liquid into mixing bowl. Add tapioca, salt, almond extract, lemon juice and food color, then cherries and sugar. Mix and let stand while making pastry. Fit pastry into bottom of 9” pie pan. Trim ½” beyond outer rim of pan. Fill with cherry mixture. Dot with butter. Fit top crust over pie and flute edges. Cut vents in top crust and brush crust with milk or cream and sprinkle with an additional 2 Tbsp. fine sugar. Place on foil covered rimmed baking sheet and put foil over edges to prevent too much browning. Bake at 425 for 30 minutes; remove foil on edges and bake an additional 15 minutes or until filling is bubbling through vent holes and crust is golden brown. Do not cut pie until cool.
I Cannot Tell A Lie Pie
2 cups pitted tart frozen cherries or 2 cups canned sour cherries, drained or 2 cups red currants, stemmed and washed
1 cup pitted frozen sweet cherries
½ cup tart cherry juice
1/3 cup maraschino cherry juice
1 cup sugar
2 1/3 Tbsp. minute tapioca
1 ½ tsp. cornstarch
Thaw cherries or currants if frozen. Drain off juices. Measure juices as above recipe and stir into mixture of sugar, tapioca and cornstarch in saucepan. Heat until thickening is complete. Boiling is not necessary. Set aside to cool. Add cherries to cooled, thickened juice. Pour filling into pastry-lined 9” pie pan. Roll out second half of pie crust and cut with fluted pastry cutter into 1”-wide strips. Weave strips over and under to form lattice-top crust. Brush top crust strips with milk or cream and sprinkle an additional tablespoon of fine sugar over. Cover edges with foil and bake on foil-lined, rimmed baking sheet for 40 minutes at 425 degrees.
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