To be a pie.

I ate about a kilogram of cherries on several occasions in both Armenia and Georgia and I really thought I was sick of them. That was before I came across tubs of sour cherries in the Union Square Greenmarket on friday. They were sleek, shiny red and mouth puckeringly tart. They just begged with every ounce of their little cherry souls to be taken home. They wanted desperately to be a pie so of course I bought several pounds and made one. 


After all, there's few things more perfect for a 4th of July beach party and bonfire. 

Sour Cherry Pie

You will have a little pie crust leftover but it freezes well and can be saved to make a small free-form pie or some mini turnovers. I replaced half of the flour with half whole-wheat pastry flour
Makes 1 10-inch pie

4 batches of Williams-Sonoma Basic Pie Dough, divided into 2 pieces for a bottom and top crust

5lbs pitted sour cherries

1-1/4 cups turbinado sugar

6 tablespoons cornstarch

a pinch of kosher salt

3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces.

1 egg

Extra sugar for sprinkling on top

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Prepare the pie crust according to the instructions.

Beat the egg and set aside.

Toss the cherries with the sugar, cornstarch and salt.

Pour the cherries into the bottom crust and scatter the butter pieces over the top.

Brush the edge of the crust with the egg and top with the second crust.

Pinch the edges and crimp with a fork.

Brush the top with the egg and sprinkle with sugar.

With a sharp knife, cut four steam vents into the top of the pie.

Bake for 15 minutes at 425 then turn the oven down to 375 degrees. Bake for another 50-60 minutes.

If the top or the edges begin to get to dark, cover them with tin foil.

Be sure to place a baking sheet on the rack below the pie to catch any juices that spill out.

Let cool at least a few hours before serving.