Sam's Cherry Lattice Birthday Pie

Here's a recipe for cherry pie using Hyline Orchard cherries. They are shipped frozen so I always cook the filling first, let it cool, then pour it into my pie shell, "lattice" the top and pop it in the oven.  You can substitute fresh cherries in season- I prefer sweet Bing or a combination of Rainier and Bing. I have also used half fresh and half frozen when pitting time is limited. You will need two recipes of pate brisee for this pie.

1 nine inch pie shell (plus one recipe pate brisee rolled and cut into lattice strips)
6 cups Hyline frozen cherries or 6 cups fresh cherries, pitted
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar (if you prefer less sweetness, cut this back by a tablespoon or two)
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
4 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

egg wash and 1 Tablespoon of sugar for lattice crust

In medium saucepan, whisk together granulated and brown sugar, cinnamon, cornstarch and lemon zest.  Add cherries and cook until mixtures thickens. This will need to boil but you don't want it to scorch. Keep it over medium heat, stirring often. The idea is to cook down the liquid, thicken the cornstarch and reduce the mixture. After the filling is cooked, remove from the heat, add the almond extract and pour into a bowl to cool. (I set it in the fridge.) When completely cool, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Roll one circle of pate brisee into a large circle about 1/8" thick and cut wide strips to form a lattice.
Pour cooled filling into pie shell, place lattice strips on top (you can weave them or just place them in a criss-cross pattern) and make sure to seal the edges then trim the excess dough. Brush lattice with egg wash and sprinkle with 1 Tablespoon of sugar. 
Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350 and bake for an additional 30 minutes until the filling is bubbling in the center. (Every oven is different- keep an eye on things; if you think the crust is getting too dark, cover the top with parchment paper or aluminum foil.) Remove from the oven and set aside on a rack to cool. Delicious on its own, even better with good quality vanilla bean ice cream.

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