Crumb Topped Cherry Pie

My nanny was the oldest girl of 14 kids. When she was 9 she started cooking. And didn't stop. Except for cake. Dessert in her home meant pie. Lots of pie. She typically made 4-6 pies at a time. Want pie? Sure thing honey. Want 2 coconut cream, 2 cherry and 2 lemon? How about 2 chocolate and 2 buttermilk? And since she only had three kids of her own, after school snack meant a pie plate and fork. Yes, the whole pie. Eat till you're full. Ah youth.

This cherry pie is wonderful. Have to use sour cherries to get the right flavor. It's not a hard pie and doesn't take a long time to make, but has to bake awhile. Great out of the oven with vanilla ice cream but wow, even better the next day out of the fridge. Like really wow. Tried to get a pretty pic of that pie, but the knife was too fast for me!

Line the bottom of your oven with some foil. You'll thank me. Then preheat to 425.

Mix:
1 1/2 c sugar
5 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp salt

Blend in
1 tbsp soft butter

Drain (Saving juice!!)
2 cans sour pitted cherries

Add 1/2 cup of that juice to the mix and then 3 cups of cherries (There are always a few extras left. I just dump in them all...or eat them).

Add 8-10 drops red food color if desired. Let all this stand while you make a pie crust. Your recipe probably makes 2 though. You can wrap the second ball of dough in plastic wrap, then ziploc and freeze. Put the shell in a 9" pie plate.
Sur La Table Ruffled Pie Plate, 9" (Google Affiliate Ad)

Pour your cherry filling in the pie plate.

Now sift together
1/2 c sugar
3/4 c flour
And cut in 1/3 c cold butter till crumbly. You can use a pastry blender or two knives crisscrossing each other, or smush it quickly with your fingers. Needs to be crumbly and cold. If it gets warm stick back in the fridge to chill.
OXO Wire Pastry Blender (Google Affiliate Ad)

Take strips of foil or a crust protector and wrap around the pie crust edge. Then top the pie with your crumb topping, piling it on to the edge.
Chicago Metallic No-Drip Pie Shield (Google Affiliate Ad)

Bake for 35 minutes, remove the edge foil and bake another 5 min. Soooo good!

*Just a note on canned cherries. It's a good idea to (with clean hands) gently squeeze the cherries randomly before you put them in the filling. You're checking for pits. There will be a pit about every 4-5 cans and that's no fun to bite down on when you're enjoying this wonderful pie.