Sour Cherry Almond Pie

I highly recommend that you get your hands on some sour cherries!  Look for them at this time in farmers’ markets or make friends with someone with a sour cherry tree.  If you can’t find them, you can simply substitute sour cherries with sweet cherries or try lemon juice and sweet cherries (3 tbsp. for 2 lbs. cherries).

Sour Cherry Almond Pie

Filling:

2 lbs. sour cherries, pitted

1 c. sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

½ tsp. almond extract

 9 inch frozen pie shell

Topping:

½ c. old-fashioned oats

¼ c. brown sugar

¼ c. chopped almonds

¼ tsp. ground cinnamon

Pinch of Kosher salt

1. Preheat the oven at 400°F. 

2. In a saucepan, mix together the cherries (including any juices), sugar, flour, and almond extract.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Boil for 1 minute, stirring.  Cool to room temperature. 

3.  In a medium bowl, combine the oats, brown sugar, almonds, cinnamon, and salt. 

4.  Pour the cooled cherry filling into the frozen pie shell and top with the oat mixture.

5. Bake the pie on a baking sheet in the center of the oven for 35 minutes or until the crust is well browned.  It’s tempting to taste this pie as soon it comes out of the oven, but allow it to cool before serving!  Believe me, it’s better this way.

I can’t wait to make this treat again next year, since my sour cherry source has already been exhausted.  This pie was a hit with everyone who got to taste it!  My aunt liked it so much that she rationed her slice to last 3 days.  It’s really easy to make, so I hope you try it!