2008 Monmouth County Fair Award Winning Bake Goods Recipes

Pie Crust4 ½ cups all-purpose flour1 ½ teaspoons salt1 1/3 cups shortening7-10 tablespoons water3-5 drops of almond extractFilling1 cup sugar3 tablespoons cornstarch¼ teaspoons salt4 cups drained jarred/canned pitted sour cherriesAbout a handful dark cherries¼-1/3 cup of the drained cherry liquid1 teaspoon almond extractPie Crust- Preheat oven to 425º F Get a large bowl and add flour, salt, and shortening(add the shortening in large blobs so that it mixes easier) Move the bowl close to a watersource and one at a time add a tablespoon of water Start with 6 or 7 drops then see ifyou need to add more later on Take a fork or two knives and cut into the mixture so thatthe dough starts to clump together Dough should appear moist, if it is not, add onetablespoon of water at a time until desired consistency Once dough looks like brokenpieces of dough, use your hands to smush everything into a big ball and then flatten withpalm of your hand Drop a few drops of almond extract onto dough and knead into it Divide dough into two Turn one piece of dough into a dome with no cracks visible Place other piece back into bowl Sprinkle some flour on surface to prevent sticking andflour the rolling pin Roll out dough into a nice round circle The dough should be about1/3 of an inch thick Place dough on pie tray (the easiest way is to gently wrap the dougharound the rolling pin and then unwrapping it on the tray)Filling- In a small bowl, stir the sugar, cornstarch, and salt together Place the drainedcherries in a large bowl Sprinkle with the sugar mixture and toss to coat evenly Nowadd the almond and cherry liquid (The cherry mix will already be very wet and liquidbecause of the cherries so judge the amount of cherry liquid needed when adding to themixture) Mix well Transfer immediately to pie crustTop Crust- Roll out the second piece of dough like you did with the first one Once it isrolled out, sketch out the batman symbol, or anything you want, into the surface of thecrust Cut out (Do not cut by dragging the knife across the dough because this will tearit Instead hold the knife almost parallel to the dough and make little jabbing motions tocut out the image) Once the dough is cut, treat it like cookie dough to remove, takingthe extra pieces away slowly and carefully Use a spatula to transfer the image to thecenter of the pie Trim the edges of the bottom crust and pinch into the desired shape ofthe crust Remember to gently pinch the edges of the image into the crust as wellbecause it will help keep it in place during baking Wrap the crust with tinfoil and bakeat 425º for 25 minutes Remove tinfoil and bake for another 20-25 minutes or until crustin golden and filling is bubbling Let cool and serve at room temperatureDouble Cherry Peach PieBy Maureen Wagner of Howell- Second Place1 can (14.5 oz.) red tart cherries (pitted)2 frozen packages sweet dark cherries (12 ounces each)