Recently, I received some requests to make a sour cream pie. Now, I admit, I took some liberties in coming up with this delicious recipe. Traditional sour cream pies have raisins. Raisins do have a place in baking…but I’m going to defer them to Oatmeal Cookies. Cherries, on the other hand, are wonderful in pie. They belong in pie. Cherries are a perfect fruit for the holidays, and the are scrumptious in this particular pie!

For those of you who simply must have raisins…. I’ve also posted a great traditional Sour Cream Raising Pie recipe.

I like a tart cherry, over a sweet cherry. That is what I used to make the compote for this pie. You could use a sweet cherry, or if you are short on time, or want any easy bake, you can substitute making the compote and use canned cherry pie filling. But honestly, I wouldn’t. The minuscule effort is well rewarded in the flavor of this pie.

One other note, I didn’t use food coloring when I baked this pie. You may want to if you must have red cherries. Just add 1-2 drops to the cherry compote.

INGREDIENTS

Shortbread Crust

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup flour

1/8 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350° F.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the almond extract. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix into the creamed butter. Press 1-1/2 cups of the crumbs into a 9” pie pan. Reserve the rest for the topping. Bake for 13-15 minutes until puffy and shows a little color.

Filling

Cherry Compote

1- 14.5 oz can tart cherries, drained with 1/2 cup juice reserved

3/8 cup granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1-1/2 Tablespoons cornstarch

1-2 drops red food coloring (optional)

Sour Cream Layer

1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature
1/4 cup (2 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon flour
1 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping

1/2 cup butter melted, cooled
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1-1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chopped pecans

almond glaze (Optional)

1 teaspoon milk

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon almond extract

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375° F.

In a small saucepan, combine cherries, reserved juice, sugar, cinnamon and cornstarch. Cook over medium heat, stirring gently but continuously until mixture bubbles and thickens. Stir in optional food coloring. Set aside to cool.

Combine sour cream, cream cheese, sugar and flour in a medium size bowl. Mix until smooth. In a separate bowl, beat eggs and vanilla together. Add egg mixture to sour cream mixture. Pour this mixture over the prepared crust. Smooth with a spatula.

Spoon cherry mixture over the sour cream mixture, gently spreading. Top with reserved crumb mixture and bake for 28-32 minutes and pie topping is golden. Remove from oven and cool. Refrigerate 1-2 hours before cutting. If you want the Almond Glaze, prepare it and drizzle it decoratively over the top of the pie, before you refrigerate it.

Enjoy this pie with a hot cup of tea, or an ice cold glass of milk. It might become a new favorite for you, like it did for me!

Sour Cream Cherry Pie {PIE #2}