Cherry Pie for Zachary. 
I learned to make pies for my little son, Zachary. A while back he told me that he’s a kind of pie person… and often when it is time to celebrate… he would ask me to bake pies rather than cakes so I became a pie maker.He loves all kinds of pies but his favorite is cherry.
On Valentine’s day when I asked him if he had any particular dessert in mind, he answered without a hesitation., ” Cherry or goguma pie!” Well…I had the time so I ended up baking both.
Since it’s was Valentine’s day I decorated the pie with some pink hearts… it turned out nice.
This was my first attempt at baking a cherry pie a few years ago.
Lattice-Top Cherry Pie Adapted from Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove Cookbook
2/3 cup sugar, plus extra for crust
3 Tablespoons cornstarch or flour
1 Tablespoon orange juice
1 teaspoon cinnamon(optional)
Pinch salt
24 oz frozen pitted sweet dark cherries, thawed and drained or 5 cups pitted fresh cherries (about 2 ½ pounds)
2 refrigerated or frozen pie crusts, thawed
1 egg white, lightly beaten
In a large bowl, combine 2/3 cup sugar, cornstarch, orange juice, cinnamon and salt. Add cherries; toss to coat. Let stand 30 minutes. ( I omit the cinnamon , Zachary prefers without it)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Press one pie crust into a glass 9-inch pie dish.
On a lightly floured countertop, roll out second pie crust to a rough rectangle shape. Using a floured pastry wheel or sharp knife cut rectangle lengthwise into ten ¾-inch-wide strips.
Spoon cherry filling into crust. Place 5 dough strips across pie in 1 direction and 4 in opposite direction, forming a lattice.
Press strip ends and edge of crust together to seal. Crimp edges decoratively. Brush lattice and edges with beaten egg. Sprinkle additional sugar over lattice.
Bake pie 20 minutes. Cover crust edges with foil to prevent overbrowning. Continue to bake 40 minutes longer, until filling bubbles and crust is golden.
Transfer wire rack to cool.
Enjoy~
