August 3, 2009

Cherry Pie

Before I get started on the cherry pie, some of you asked if huckleberries might be available in your area. I'm not always sure I can remember where everyone resides, but I found this on the interwebs and probably should have posted it with my recipe for Huckleberry Muffins.

Where can I find huckleberries? Huckleberries are native to the northwestern United States and Canada, growing from Wyoming west to Alaska, Washington, and Oregon. They also grow in Idaho and Montana. The require elevations of from 2,000 to 11,000 feet.

Are huckleberries grown on farms? Current research says it is almost impossible to domesticate the wild huckleberry species but efforts are being made.

So, there you have it... if you live in the Northwest, go look for some huckleberry bushes... but watch out for bears.

Since moving to Montana a little over a year ago, I've heard several people rave about Flathead Cherries. In researching them, I found that there really is no such thing as "Flathead" cherries, but the cherries grown in the region of the Flathead Lake in northwestern Montana are referred to as such.

These cherries were available at our Farmers Market last Saturday, so we bought a bag. We ate a few and they were delicious... too delicious not to make a cherry pie. I stemmed and pitted them (without the use of one of these).

I used Martha's Pate Brisee for the pie dough. Because the cherries were so sweet and perfect, I only added 3/4 cups sugar and 1/3 cup cornstarch to the halved cherries, put them in the pie shell and baked the pie at 425F for 15 minutes. I then lowered the temperature to 350F and baked for another hour. Don't be laughing at my pie crust... I'm no baker... I'm a cooker :)

What to do with leftover dough? Make cinnamon rolls like my Mom used to. I rolled it out, put cinnamon and sugar on it then sprinkled it with mini-chocolate chips. I rolled it up, cut it into rounds and baked it.

Whenever my Mom would make a pie we would look forward to the pinwheels almost more than the pie!

Now, you can laugh at this... my gardener often tells me that I'm "losing it". Well, I put these pinwheels in plastic bags and then thought "Hmm, I should put them on a plate and take a pretty picture." So, I got a plate out, put five of them on the plate and then my MIL said something to me. After I answered, I picked up the pinwheels from the plate, put them back in the plastic bags and discovered when I uploaded my pictures from the camera that I'd forgotten to take a picture of the pinwheels on the plate.

I'll send you money if you don't tell my gardener.

23 comments:

  1. I just love Cherry Pie, and the rolls look soooo good. The pie looks exceptionally delicious!!!

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  2. Oh my goodness Karen! You've got me chucklin' over here...that is such a ME thing to do, LOL :) Your pie looks delicious, though I'll never give up my pitter (but if I ever lose it, I'll try this method). And yes!!! I am definitely making cinnamon rolls from my leftover pie dough next time...why didn't I think of that?

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  3. You are so funny, Karen! lol-love those rolls in the baggies!
    But seriouly, this is one delicious looking cherry pie and it looks perfect to me!
    I don't consider myself a baker either, but I'm thinking about making pie now!

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  4. What a wonderful pie and I love pinwheels you've made from the excess dough.

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  5. What a clever idea with the pencil-pitter!! :)

    Karen, that is ONE GOOD LOOKING pie, I'll bet it was delicious.

    You brought memories and aroma from Mom's long-ago kitchen to me this morning ~ she would alway make those little pinwheels for us kids with the scraps too. Usually with cinnamon-sugar filling, or sometimes her homemade jam. Happy times are fun to revisit, aren't they?

    Thank you for sharing. xo~m

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  6. I won't tell your gardener if you won't. I will rememeber the pinwheels the next time I make pie...I always have extra dough.

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  7. The pie looks great, but I bet those pinwheels are divine!

    That sounds like a great method for pitting cherries, I'll have to try it out.

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  8. The cherry pie looks very good and I would also love some of those cinnamon rolls - yum!

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  9. What a beautiful cherry pie. Love the tips on pitting them! What I love even more is the pinwheel idea.

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  10. cherry pie! Such a winner dessert! Thanks for sharing your recipe!

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  11. Yummy! Fruit pies are the perfect summer dessert.

    Huckleberries will never fail to remind me of my first dog as a child, named (of course) Huckleberry :)

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  13. Love your MacGyver cherry pitter, it's the best! I do things like that all the time- like open the frige and wonder why, put my hairbrush in the trash, I think my mind is going too!

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  14. I think your cherry pie looks wonderful, kind of rustic. My Mom used to do the same thing with leftover pie dough but we called the Jim Cracks - don't ask me why.

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  15. I promise I won't tell and there's no need to send money - just send along some of those pinwheels. They look as good as the pie!

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  16. Damn. I have never had huckleberries, but I've always wanted to try some. I had forgotten that, until I read this. Now I'll have to see if I can dig some up, figuratively speaking, when I go shopping this weekend.

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  17. Yum, love the leftover pie dough. My Mother used to spread it with butter, then sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. We gobbled it right up.

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  18. That tip about pitting cherries is awesome!!! I will now actually try to make a pie without using canned crap lol. How much cherry did you use? Was it just lining the bottom or did you go with the whole bag? All of it looks yummy & no I won't laugh, I am the poster child for "something shiny" lol!

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  19. Your cherry pie looks great! I love your innovative cherry pitter. My grandma used to sprinkle leftover pie crust with sugar and cinnamon, but she didn't make fancy pinwheels.

    Those huckleberries look incredibly similar to the wild Maine blueberries I picked recently. Interesting...

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  20. You're making me hungry!

    Happy blogoversary!

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  21. Yum! I love cherry pie. Now I know what we'll have for dessert tomorrow. I won't give up my pitter, though.

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  22. Hi Karen! I am missing your blogging! I have a request... can you make kolaches? They are a Czech pastry. I used to get them in Houston and they were really good there. Lots of little shops had them. I bought some today in Fredericksburg, Virginia and they just weren't the same. Have you made these before?

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  23. Cherry is my favourite pie, yours looks wonderful. I really like your cherry pitting idea, going to have to try that!

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