Best Cherry Pie

==Description==
Canned Cherries by the US Department of Agriculture, public domain government resource—original source of recipe
* Serves: 8
==Ingredients==
* 1 cup sugar
* ⅓ cup flour
* 2 cans red tart Cherries, drained, reserving juice
* ¼ teaspoon red food coloring (optional)
* ¼ teaspoon almond extract (optional)
* 1 tablespoon margarine or butter
* Pastry for double-crust 9-inch pie
==Directions==
# Preheat oven to 425°F.
# In a saucepan, combine sugar and flour.
# Blend in 1 cup reserved cherry juice. Bring to a boil, stirring often. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, until thickened.
# Remove from heat and add food coloring (optional), almond extract (optional), and margarine. Cover and refrigerate.
# Roll out half of pastry and line a 9” pie pan.
# Roll out other half of pastry into an 11” circle – cut into eight ½” strips.
# Pour cooled cherry filling into pastry-lined pie pan – lay pastry strips horizontally and then vertically across the top of the pie. Crimp edges with forefinger of one hand pressed into thumb of the other hand, to seal edges.
# Bake 30–35 minutes until crust is brown and filling is bubbling.
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Category:Pie Recipes