<p>I hope you can find something already made. I don’t think of cherry pie as a Christmas dessert. I usually make an apple/cranberry/currant pie with brandy in the filling, a huge amount of filling, in a large pie plate, and mound the filling up so that the top crust is really high. Maybe you could ask for something more seasonal, like pumpkin? I made a great pumpkin pie after Thanksgiving, with coconut milk instead of evaporated milk, and it was great except that I’d left out the sugar by mistake!</p>
<p>Oh, there already will be pumpkin and pecan and mincemeat. I love this SIL, who works so hard to put on a beautiful holiday spread. The least I can do is come up with a tasty cherry pie. Even if it’s frozen. She said there will be 19 adults and 4 kids for dinner, so we need lots of dessert.</p>
<p>I will say, now that the pie had completely cooled, it tastes better. :)</p>
<p>If you aren’t ambitious enough for a pie, Joy of Cooking has a great cherrie cobbler recipe - and we think it tastes fine with the canned goop - never thought of it as goop before!</p>
<p>I’ve been eyeing these little pie pans at sur la table for the past couple of weeks:</p>
<p>[Chicago</a> Metallic Pie Mold at Sur La Table](<a href=“http://www.surlatable.com/product/PRO-192566/Chicago-Metallic-Pie-Mold]Chicago”>http://www.surlatable.com/product/PRO-192566/Chicago-Metallic-Pie-Mold)</p>
<p>I consider a good cherry pie to be high art.</p>
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<p>Did you check with the Whole Foods bakery to see if they could do a cherry pie for you? The bakery at our Whole Foods store is very accomodating and has made up special orders for us on many occasions. Of course, it also helps that everything they make is yummy!</p>
<p>Okay I remembered where my issue of Cooks Illustrated was. It calls for real or frozen berries which doesn’t help you much, but what might interest you is that it also calls for two plums to make it a little tarter, and it also has 1 Tb lemon juice an option 2 Tsp bourbon. 2 TB ground tapioca keep it from being too runny and there’s also a dash of cinnamon. For a flaky crust, you can’t beat vodka crust. (Also a Cook’s Illustrated invention.) [Cook’s</a> Illustrated’s Foolproof Pie Dough | Serious Eats : Recipes](<a href=“http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2007/11/cooks-illustrated-foolproof-pie-dough-recipe.html]Cook’s”>Cook's Illustrated's Foolproof Pie Dough Recipe)</p>
<p>Our Whole Foods makes great pie filling, but the crusts are tough, tough, tough. I actually got a refund on a fruit tart that had a crust so thick and hard that large chunks skittered across the table as guests tried to use a fork to eat pieces. </p>
<p>Love, love, love Cooks Illustrated. I can make their pie dough in a snap, and the vodka really helps. I’m sure people imagine we must be quite the drinkers if they see the half-pint (half a PLASTIC pint) of vodka in my freezer!</p>
<p>I am able to buy cans of tart cherries at the “high end” grocery stores in our city (not the more average/basic grocery stores that I shop at every day). They make GREAT pies (not the goopy stuff).</p>
<p>Here is my cherry pie recipe (that we love).</p>
<p>Crust: I don’t make my own. I buy the Pillsbury ones in the fridge session (in the longish red box), and roll them out a bit thinner. </p>
<p>Preheat oven to 400 degrees with pizza stone covered with foil on bottom shelf.</p>
<p>3 16 oz cans of water packed red tart pitted cherries, drained
Reserve 1 cup of the juice from the cans of cherries
1/4 cup of potato starch or 1/3 cup of corn starch
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 cup sugar</p>
<p>Cook cherry juice, sugar, potato starch, and a pinch of salt over medium low heat. Stir with rubber spatula until very thick paste forms (this is homemade cherry goop, much better than the other kinds!). Scrape paste over cherries, add almond extract, and stir.</p>
<p>Fill pie crust and dot with butter. Put on top crust and put MANY slits in it. You may have some extra filling. Don’t overfill, it is messy if it overflows too much.</p>
<p>Bake 20 minutes. Brush with egg white and sprinkle with sugar. Bake 20 minutes more, then cover edge of crust with foil (I used to make the foil cover before I put it in the oven, much easier to shape when the pie is cool – my kids bought me a pie pan with a cover for the edges a couple of years ago). Bake 15-20 minutes more, cool on a wire rack.</p>
<p>Serve with vanilla ice cream. Yum!</p>
<p>Of course frozen cherries are great- they sell them at the roadside stands in the Door County peninsula of Wisconsin along with fresh cooking (more sour than eating) cherries. Michigan is big for cherries (climate the reason for both places). Years ago I bought the premium cans but used more than one- they always seem to have far too much filler. Mrs. Smith brand frozen pies are good (cherry and apple)- especially the large size- better crust than Marie Callendars. Sara Lee has few cherries and a lot of filler (good Key Lime pie, however).</p>
<p>I think that canned tart cherries in their own juice–NOT the “cherry pie filling goop”–make a perfectly fine cherry pie. The recipe I use is along the lines of intparent’s, above, although I’ve never heard of using potato starch.This will have a LOT less cornstarch than the disgusting canned goop, and be a lot fruitier and tarter.</p>
<p>But I always make my own crust. 
I find that a lattice top is particularly suited to cherry pie.</p>
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<p>In our area Walmart carries some Claim Jumper frozen pies but not the cherry pie for some reason. Maybe it’s a Walmart thing. </p>
<p>If you still want to try the frozen pie route, I suggest trying a slightly more upscale supermarket. Here in SoCal Ralphs carries them as do some other supermarkets.</p>
<p>NYMomof2, years ago I stumbled upon a recipe for apple cranberry pie and it was DELICIOUS. In the years since every time I bake one I never get to taste it because it’s usually gone before dinner is over. Found the recipe in an old ‘Southern Living’ pie and dessert cookbook.</p>
<p>I agree that canned tart cherries in juice work great for pie. Frozen is the gold standard, though – I always buy a few quarts of sour cherries in July and pit and freeze them for winter. They’re fantastic.</p>
<p>I was shopping in Meijer this morning (don’t know if you have this store) and they had plenty of frozen cherries in the freezer area - I’m surprised you couldn’t find frozen ones!</p>
<p>I have to say, I was quite disappointed in my Central Market’s selection of frozen cherry pies. There was ONE! They guy at the bakery said I could call the CM in Houston and have them make one for me. I might do that.</p>
<p>New plan: I just called my CM in town, and they’ll make one up for me in the morning that I’ll pick up on the way out of town. They said it will still be good on Sunday.</p>
<p>I am wanting to try the crust for my quiche recipe. Usually I prebake before adding ingredients so wondering if anyone has tried to do the same. from my DROIDX using CC App</p>
<p>I always do the “baking blind” thing for quiches.</p>
<p>My mom made the BEST cherry pies. She always used the canned sour cherries (no gloppy filler) and thickened it with tapioca instead of corn starch. She added a small amount of almond extract. Her crusts were excellent- she used a recipe that called for a small amount of vinegar (makes it flakier) and an egg yolk (makes it tender.) Good luck with your pie.</p>
<p>I grew up eating cherry pie and other cherry desserts with sour cherries from my Grandmother’s own cour cherry tree, which we were not allowed to climb. My mother let her kids and grandkids climb HER cherry trees.</p>