Pie 6: Vegan Cherry Pie

Pie 6: Don't judge a vegan by it's crust...

It is starting to becoming a tradition at the Hipp and Luzniak residence (notice who's name came first) to host a weekly dinner party. For those of you who follow my life like a blood hound, you are well aware that these parties are more centered around the show "Glee" then anything else. ("You sunk my battleship Rod, and you sunk it hard!") I however find it hard to believe that my friends are ONLY coming to see "Glee", I'm sure they come for one reason only... and that's to eat my pie.

This weeks theme is Vegan and to my surprise most of my friends are bringing wine, lots and lots of wine.... that's different? I guess it's to be suspected. Michael is a wine importer, Dawn has a refined palate, and Justin... well... Justin is just a lush. My friends are a big "melting pot", which makes it fun, and of course they take after me and are hilarious! It's great to have a bunch of people together to share conversation and judgments over a great show and food.

I decided to make a vegan cherry pie because I've been craving cherry pie lately and I think that a cherry pie won't lack very much flavor by substituting the butter for soy margarine and vegetable shortening. If you were to ask my father how to eat a cherry pie he'd say, "It must be warm and served with vanilla ice cream." Too bad he's 3000 miles away and won't be able to scarf it down with us.

Make sure that when you're selecting your cherries that you find ones that have sourness to them, sour is "trump" for cherry pie. The best place to find them is at farmers markets around September/October. If you can't find fresh cherries you can easily substitute canned pie cherries. If this is the case you'll probably need 2-3 cans.

Vegan Cherry Pie:

Easy Pie Dough Recipe:
2/3 cups plus 2 Tbsp chilled vegetable shortening
2 cup flour (all-purpose)
1 tsp salt
4-6 Tbsp ice water

Like my previous pie dough recipes the same techniques should be used on this recipe. Remember: always cold utensils and bowls. Cut in the shortening with the flour/salt, then add the water slowly, aproximately 1 Tbsp at a time as you are stirring with a wooden spoon. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Prepare the filling while it is being cooled.

Pie Filling:
3 Tbsp cornstarch
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp vegan margarine (soft at room temperature)
1 cup cranberry juice
6 cups of cherries (pitted)
1 Tbsp lemon juice
(1 tsp red food dye: optional)

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. In a medium sized mixing bowl whisk the cornstarch and sugar together. Pour in the cranberry juice. Make sure your working quickly and constantly whisking so the cornstarch does not clump and harden. Add margarine and lemon juice and whisk. Add cherries and stir with a rubber spatula to evenly coat. Set aside while you finish preparing the dough.

Cut dough into two equal pieces, and roll each ball out on a lightly floured surface into two disks. Add 1 disk into the pie pan and cut the other into 8 equal strips for weaving the top crust (if desired).

Add the cherry mixture to pie filling. With the additional dough you can either place it directly on top and cut ventilation holes or like I recommend, the decorative braiding pattern. If you're doing a braiding pattern it's easiest to start by laying down all your vertical strips of dough. Then as you add each horizontal strip you can pull back every other vertical strip so that the end result looks like a knitted piece of dough. If you are having problems with this technique or have questions, feel free to email me.

Brush the dough with a little bit of water and then sprinkle with sugar, this will form a nice crunchy texture on the crust. If you're not trying to make it vegan I'd recommend using heavy cream or egg yolk instead of water. Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and bake for another 40-50 minutes. If the crust is browning too quickly you may add aluminum foil to the edges to slow this process down. Let sit for atleast 90 minutes before cutting into.

ENJOY!!!