Giveaway: King Arthur Flour & National Cherry Pie Day
February 20th is National Cherry Pie Day. While the dish is credited to Queen Elizabeth the 1st of England, most Americans are more likely to think of George Washington and his cherry tree when thinking of this bubbly, tart dessert.
Little known is that the story of George Washington and his cherry tree is a complete fabrication. That didn't stop many people from making paintings, decorative plates, and desserts around this famous fiction.
I wouldn't know a tenth of what I do about pie making and baking in general if it weren't for King Arthur Flour.
America's oldest flour company is also the one I trust with every baking question I have had in the past or will ever have in the future. They broke me of my pie crust curse after a weekend at their Blog and Bake conference last June. When they asked for my help celebrating National Cherry Pie Day, I couldn't possibly say no.
For National Cherry Pie Day I adapted KAF's Presidential Cherry Pie recipe. So far we haven't seen sour cherries down here in Texas, so I used sweet Bing cherries. Just as delicious, and deeply seductive, this is one cherry pie you'll want to make again and again.
Homemade pie filling couldn't be easier with King Arthur Flour's Pie Filling Enhancer. In fact, it took me longer to pit the cherries (who would have thought I'd miss that little uni-tasker down here in Texas?) than it did to make the pie filling.
The pie baked up into perfection in just 35 minutes. Word of warning: when baking in a foreign oven, trust your instincts. KAF's recipe calls for 40-45 minutes in the oven. I learned the hard way during the baking of this cherry pie that my sister's oven runs 10 degrees hotter than the temperature on the display, resulting in an overdone edge - even WITH the fabulous silicone crust protector provided by KAF. That crust protector can only do so much - it's not going to protect the pie when you bake it 10 minutes too long.
But I should have known better. I read King Arthur Flour's The Baking Sheet on a regular basis, and they always recommend testing your oven with a separate oven thermometer, instead of trusting the display. If you've never heard of it, The Baking Sheet is King Arthur Flour's bi-monthly newsletter, filled with 24 pages of recipes, tips, tricks, and all the secrets to baking you'd ever want to know. It's edited by Susan Reid, whom I have personally met and baked with. She knows her stuff, I can tell you that much.
If you want to get in the know about all things baking, I highly recommend picking up a subscription. They even have a special deal going on right now - if you choose the special offer, you get a 1 year subscription PLUS every issue of The Baking Sheet since 2009!
Check out the giveaway below the printable recipe!
Presidential Cherry Pie
Adapted from King Arthur Flour
Ingredients
One prepared double pie crust, or your favorite pie crust recipe
5-6 cups fresh Bing Cherries
¾ cup sugar
¾ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup Pie Filling Enhancer (see King Arthur Flour's site for substitutes)
1 teaspoon almond extract
½ teaspoon salt
Directions
Preheat the oven to 425F.
Prepare and roll out the bottom half of the pie crust. Line the pie dish with the dough. Prepare the pie filling.
Wash and pit the Bing cherries. In a medium bowl, combine cherries, ½ cup of cold water, sugar, cinnamon, and pie filling enhancer. Stir gently until all ingredients appear well mixed.
Add almond extract and salt, and stir again.
Pour pie filling into the pie dish.
To make a lattice pie, use a pizza cutter to slice strips into the top crust. Start with the smallest edge, and lay it towards the edge, where both ends of the strip will touch the bottom pie crust edge.
Continue lining the pie, using an over-under basket weave technique to line the pie.
Pinch and fold over the bottom crust overhang to secure the ends of each strip, then use your fingers and thumb to create a decorative edge (or use a fork to press an edge into the crust).
Cover the edge of the pie with a silicone baking shield or aluminum foil.
Brush milk onto pie crust strips and sprinkle with sparkling sugar if desired.
Bake for 35-45 minutes, until pie crust is golden brown and filling is slightly bubbling.
Allow to cool and enjoy with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream!
To Celebrate National Cherry Pie Day King Arthur Flour is offering one lucky B&B reader a fabulous Pie Package!
King Arthur Flour Pie Package
Here's what you have to do:
To get extra entries, you can:
Enter to win a Pie Package for National Cherry Pie Day from @KingArthurFlour & @BluebonnetBaker! http://su.pr/6sCXR1 #giveaway
You must leave a comment here telling me you tweeted.
Important Details:
-This giveaway is open to USA residents only and will run until Monday, February 27th at 11:59 am EST.
-Winner(s) will be generated via a random number generator software program. Winner will be notified via the contact email provided on the comment contact form.
-Winner(s) will have until 2/29/12 to claim their King Arthur Flour Pie Package or we will choose another winner.
-Winner will receive (1) issue of The Baking Sheet, (1) 5 lb. bag of King Arthur Unbleached All Purpose Flour, (1) package of King Arthur Flour Pie Filling Enhancer, (1) Adjustable Silicone Pie Crust Shield, and (1) King Arthur Flour Pie Essentials DVD {Valued at over $50}. Product will be shipped by King Arthur Flour.
Disclosure:
This giveaway is provided to you by King Arthur Flour. The views and opinions expressed by Amber Bracegirdle on Bluebonnets & Brownies are my own, and based upon my experiences with King Arthur Flour products. I received the giveaway items for review free of charge.
[wpurp-searchable-recipe]Giveaway: King Arthur Flour & National Cherry Pie Day - - - [/wpurp-searchable-recipe]
I can't even remember when I last had cherry pie. It's been so long...What I do remember is that it was not homemade, so I would love to try to make my own some day.
I like Bluebonnets & Brownies on Facebook.
My mom used to make a cherry pie every Thanksgiving and Christmas, but it was always made with canned cherry filling. It was tasty but too sweet for me. I've never tried making my own cherry pie from scratch but your recipe has inspired me!
My favorite pie has to be a Cherry Cheese Pie made by my godmother (it's a yummy cream cheese based pie)!
Oh, and I liked you on Facebook 🙂
I've only had cherry pie once, at a friend's house (she is a trained chef). It was fantastic, but I realized that I'm still quite allergic to cherries even after they have been cooked so I have sworn off cherry pies. (I'm mildly allergic to a lot of fruits - cooking them usually takes removes the allergen for me.)
Following BluebonnetBaker on Pinterest! I'm so glad I did. Love your boards!
amy [at] utry [dot] it
Following Bluebonnets & Brownies on Facebook
amy [at] utry [dot] it
Following King Arthur Flour on Facebook
amy [at] utry [dot] it
tweeted: https://twitter.com/#!/uTry_it/status/172242556875313152
amy [at] utry [dot] it
Tweeted about this giveaway: https://twitter.com/#!/uTry_it/status/172242556875313152
amy [at] utry [dot] it
The best cherry pie I’ve ever had was one made by my Aunt on a Thanksgiving a few years ago when all of our family members can gather together for a feast. I think food always tastes better when shared with love ones.
amy [at] utry [dot] it
And I followed KA on twitter
And you on FB and Pinterest.
The only cherry pies I've had in US were made with that awful canned stuff. And I'm not surprised, the cherries here are hard to come by. I was born in Eastern Europe, and we had different varieties of cherries. The sour ones were best for cooking. My mom made all kinds of goodies from preserves to varenikys, to crumbles and tarts.
at a fair!
I love cherry pie...it is one of my favorites. I hope this will count as anadditional entry as I am refusing to participate in all of these social networks programs. I feel it just takes away face time with my family and friends, which I feel is much more important. I would sit with a friend or family over a cup of tea or coffee and a piece of cherry pie (or any other pie for that matter!)and catch up on each others lives. To me those are really the moments that count. Cherrypie and friends and family!