did you know???
February 20th is National Cherry Pie Day

5 cups fresh pitted sour cherries 1-1/2 cups sugar 3 Tbsp. MINUTE Tapioca 1/4 tsp. almond extract Pie Crust - 1 for the shell and 1 for the top 1 Tbsp. butter or margarine

Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss cherries with sugar, tapioca and almond extract. Let stand 15 minutes. Prepare pie crust as directed using 9-inch pie plate. Fill with fruit mixture. Dot with butter. Cover with second pie crust. Seal and flute edge. Cut several slits to permit steam to escape. BAKE 45 to 50 minutes or until juices form bubbles that burst slowly. Cool.

Pie Crust
Makes three 9-inch crusts

3 cups sifted flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons Crisco shortening
6 tablespoons ice water

Sift the flour and salt into the bowl you will be using and let it chill a while. Measure the Crisco and chill it, too. (I usually do this the night before I bake my pie.)

Cut the Crisco into the flour with two knives or a pastry blender until the mixture looks like small peas. Slowly sprinkle in the cold water, tossing the mixture with a fork. The dough should be just moist enough to hold together when pressed with a fork. If it's too sticky, the crust will be tough.

Shape the dough into three balls. Don't worry if it looks a little crumbly. You can patch it together in the pie plate, and nobody will know the difference.

Generously flour a tightly woven cloth (I use a clean dish towel), place one ball of dough on the cloth and use a rolling pin to make the dough evenly flat. Use a light touch and don't work the dough longer than you have to. And don't try to roll a perfect circle - only Martha can do that.

Lap the dough over the rolling pin and unroll it onto the pie plate. Patch any holes with bits of dough you pull off the sides where there's too much.

For a one-crust pie, use your fingers and make little ridges and valleys around the edge. If it's not pretty, don't worry. It will still taste good.

If your recipe calls for a baked crust, prick it all over with a fork (make the pricks about 1/4 to 1/2 inch apart) and chill it for half an hour. Then bake in preheated 450-degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes.

For a two-crust pie, add the filling, then roll out a top crust, lap it over your rolling pin and spread it across the top. Again, you'll probably have holes. Fill them as best you can and keep going.

Make the little ridges around the edges again, cut some slits in the top to let the steam escape, and bake according to your recipe. For an extra treat, put any bits of leftover crust on an oven-proof plate, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and bake until lightly browned.