Cherry Pie
"Can she make a cherry pie, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Can she make a cherry pie, charming Billy?
She can make a cherry pie, quick as you can wink an eye,
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother."
- Appalachian Folk Song
We’re cooking our way through the story with Cherry Pie! This one is for Lissa who always chose cherry pie as her birthday dessert. She also made me feel like royalty as a kid when she’d get us fresh cherries to indulge in.
I’ve experimented with cooking with the mountain favorites of shortening and butter, and decided to save lard for our pie.
I learned how to make a pie when we lived in Devon, England when I was 19. We would pick blackberries off the hedges, bring them home in our bandannas, and it was bliss. I’ve been chasing that pie-high ever since, deciding it was the time and place.
But y’all, as I started to make this pie crust with the lard, a memory flashed back to me, 27 years later. Those pies I made in England were made with lard. And now I know, it wasn’t some special thing in the air, it was the lard!
I also made the pie in a ten inch cast iron skillet for the full mountain effect. I thought it was fine, but I probably wouldn’t mess with it again. And then I cut into it and the crust is perfect! If you love pie crust as much as I do, even though that’s probably impossible, you’ll love this one. The skillet kept it crisp and flaky, even in the fridge overnight.
I heard that a true Appalachian would probably have the cherry pie with a cup of coffee instead of ice cream or whipped cream. I’m not one to ever pass up some cream in my desserts, but it didn’t inspire me to pull out Popaw’s 84 Lumber mug and have some black coffee with pie. Y’all, it was better with the coffee.
We’re back to our roots with cast iron, lard, and black coffee on this one and I truthfully could eat the whole thing!
To make;
Cherry Pie
10 inch cast iron skillet
The Crust:
3 cups + 2 tbsp flour,
plus more for rolling
1 tsp salt
Nearly 1 cup lard
8-10 tbsp iced water
The Filling:
6 cups fresh pitted cherries
(I used sweet black cherries)
or 2 quarts canned cherries, drained
or 2 pounds frozen cherries, thawed
1 cup sugar (if using sour cherries,
increase your sugar a bit)
1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp butter
I. Begin with the crust. Mix the flour and salt together. Cut in the lard until you get pea-sized crumbs. Get in there with your fingers.
II. Add the iced water a few tablespoons at a time until the dough just comes together. Pat into two separate discs, wrap in plastic, and chill for 30 minutes.
III. Meanwhile heat your oven to 425 degrees. Pit your cherries. In a large bowl, mix together the cherries, sugar, flour, and salt.
IV. Roll out the bottom crust and fit it to your skillet, leaving some overhang. Pour in the cherry mixture. Dot the top of the cherries with butter. Roll out the top crust and add it to the top, adding in a few vent holes. Or make a lattice. Either way, crimp the edges with your fingers or a fork.
V. Bake for 20 minutes at 425 degrees, then reduce the oven to 375 degrees, baking for another hour until bubbling. You can start checking it around the 40 minute mark. It will depend a bit on your oven and how much liquid your fruit has.
~ from the table of Summer crosby hennessy of acorn moon mercantile ~