Fresh Cherry Pie

I love fresh cherries and a good cherry pie.  I am not a big fan though of the commercial cherry pie filling.  It lacks in taste.  Making a cherry pie from scratch is really not that hard.  The most time consuming part is pitting the cherries.  However, even that can be eliminated by buying frozen cherries which are already pitted, so the work is already done for you.  The crust of this pie is also very easy to make and it gives it such a nice, homey flavor.  Serve it warm with some vanilla ice cream or whipped cream on top.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:
For crust:
-2 cups all-purpose flour
-1 tsp salt
-2/3 cup shortening
-5 to 7 Tbs ice water
For filling:
-5 to 6 cups fresh pitted cherries or frozen sweet black cherries
-1/2 cup water
-1 1/4 cups sugar
-4 Tbs cornstarch
Directions:
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil
First, make the crust by mixing the flour and salt in a medium bowl.  With a pastry blender or fork, cut in the shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Sprinkle with water, one tablespoon at a time, while tossing and mixing lightly with fork.  Add water until dough is moist enough to form a ball when lightly pressed together.  Too much water will make it sticky and tough, while too little water will make it to crack and tear when rolling.
Shape the dough into 2 balls.  Flatten 1 ball into 1/2 inch thickness, rounding and smoothing edges.  On floured surface, roll lightly , then place into 9 inch pie pan.  Gently press in bottom and up sides of pan.  Do not stretch.  Trim pastry even with pan edge.  Place pie pan on prepared baking sheet.  Roll out the other ball and set aside.
Make the filling by mixing in a saucepan all the ingredients.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook on low, stirring frequently for about 10 minutes.  Cool slightly before pouring it into prepared shell.
Preheat oven to 400 F.
Once the filling is in, place the second piece of rolled dough on top and poke all over with a fork to let the steam out (you can also decorate it as you want).  Bake in preheated oven for 40-45 minutes.  Let it cool a little and enjoy!