Cherry pie from those weirdly red canned cherries covered in goo can be nice if you just want a quick fix of something sweet to serve with ice cream. If you want cherry pie, and fresh cherries are not in season, or you are not looking to have the experience of hand-cramping from using a pitter on 6 cups of cherries, frozen cherries might be your answer.

crust:
8 oz plus 4 tbsp of European salted butter
2.5 cups of flour
2 tbsp organic cane sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup vodka from the freezer
1/4 cup ice water
1 tsp turbinado sugar

Filling:
6 cups frozen pitted black cherries
2 cups turbinado sugar
1 cup of AP unbleached flour
The juice and zest of two lemons
1/4 cup kirschwasser

In the food processor, combine the flour, salt and 2 tbsp of sugar. pulse until combined. Cut the butter into quarter inch cubes. Put into the food processor with the dry ingredients and pulse until the mixture looks like shredded parmesan. Pulse while adding the combined vodka and ice water until the dough all moves in a single mass but not so long to form a ball. dump out the dough on a clean, dry surface, divide in half. form into disks, cover in cling film and refrigerate while you prepare the filling.

In a saucepan, combine the frozen cherries, sugar, zest and juice, and the flour. Stir over medium heat until the cherries thaw and break a bit, the sugar dissolves completely, and the juice begins to thicken. Add the kirchwasser.

Set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit.

Roll out your pie dough on a lightly floured surface so that roughly half an inch of dough hangs over the edge. Add your filling. Top with the second crust, crimp the edges and vent the top. Beat an egg yolk into a quarter cup of cream and brush the top of the pie crust. Sprinkle lightly with one tsp of turbinado sugar and place the pie on a half sheet pan to catch any bubble-over.

When I make pies, I make a small tasting pie as well. This allows you to sample the goods without having to cut your main pie. They cook faster, so keep an eye on the little one.

Bake at 375 for 35 minutes, then turn the oven temp down to 350 degrees. Bake for another 25 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

Let the pie cool for 25-30 minutes.

Dig in.