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Sour Cherry–Hazelnut Pie

By Leah Colins

Published on October 14, 2020

Time

1¾ hours, plus 1 hour chilling and 4 hours cooling

Yield

Serves 8

Sour Cherry–Hazelnut Pie

Ingredients

1 Nut Double-Crust Pie Dough 1 cup (7 ounces/198 grams) sugar 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest plus 2 teaspoons juice¼ cup instant tapioca, ground⅛ teaspoon table salt 2 pounds (907 grams) fresh sour cherries, pitted3 tablespoons hazelnut liqueur (optional)1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon water

Before You Begin

Use a spice grinder to grind the tapioca. We like the flavor of our nut dough made with hazelnuts here, but you can use any double-crust pie dough.

Instructions

  1.  Roll 1 disk of dough into 12-inch circle on floured counter. Loosely roll dough around rolling pin and gently unroll it into 9-inch pie plate, letting excess dough hang over edge. Ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with your hand while pressing into plate bottom with your other hand. Leave any dough that overhangs plate in place. Wrap dough-lined plate loosely in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
  2.  Roll other piece of dough into 13 by 10½-inch rectangle on floured counter, then transfer to parchment paper–lined rimmed baking sheet; cover loosely with plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
  3.  Using pizza wheel, fluted pastry wheel, or paring knife, trim ¼ inch dough from long sides of rectangle, then cut lengthwise into eight 1¼-inch-wide strips. Cover loosely with plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees.
  4.  Whisk sugar, lemon zest, tapioca, and salt together in large bowl. Stir in cherries, lemon juice, and hazelnut liqueur, if using, and let sit for 15 minutes. Spread cherry mixture into dough-lined plate.
  5.  Remove dough strips from refrigerator; if too stiff to be workable, let sit at room temperature until softened slightly but still very cold. Space 4 strips evenly across top of pie, parallel to counter edge. Fold back first and third strips almost completely. Lay 1 strip across pie, perpendicular to second and fourth strips, keeping it snug to folded edges of dough strips, then unfold first and third strips over top. Fold back second and fourth strips and add second perpendicular strip, keeping it snug to folded edge. Unfold second and fourth strips over top. Repeat weaving remaining strips evenly across pie, alternating between folding back first and third strips and second and fourth strips to create lattice pattern. Shift strips as needed so they are evenly spaced over top of pie. (If dough becomes too soft to work with, refrigerate pie and dough strips until firm.)
  6.  Trim overhang to ½ inch beyond lip of plate. Pinch edges of bottom crust and lattice strips together firmly to seal. Tuck overhang under itself; folded edge should be flush with edge of plate. Crimp dough evenly around edge of plate. (If dough is very soft, refrigerate for 10 minutes before baking.) Brush surface with egg wash.
  7.  Place pie on aluminum foil–lined rimmed baking sheet and bake until crust is light golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue to bake until juices are bubbling and crust is deep golden brown, 30 to 50 minutes longer. Let pie cool on wire rack until filling has set, about 4 hours. Serve.
Sour Cherry–Hazelnut Pie
Photography by Daniel J. van Ackere. Styling by Chantal Lambeth.

Sour Cherry–Hazelnut Pie

Save

Time

1¾ hours, plus 1 hour chilling and 4 hours cooling

Yield

Serves 8

Ingredients

1 cup (7 ounces/198 grams) sugar
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest plus 2 teaspoons juice
¼ cup instant tapioca, ground
⅛ teaspoon table salt
2 pounds (907 grams) fresh sour cherries, pitted
3 tablespoons hazelnut liqueur (optional)
1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon water

Ingredients

1 cup (7 ounces/198 grams) sugar
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest plus 2 teaspoons juice
¼ cup instant tapioca, ground
⅛ teaspoon table salt
2 pounds (907 grams) fresh sour cherries, pitted
3 tablespoons hazelnut liqueur (optional)
1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon water

Ingredients

1 cup (7 ounces/198 grams) sugar
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest plus 2 teaspoons juice
¼ cup instant tapioca, ground
⅛ teaspoon table salt
2 pounds (907 grams) fresh sour cherries, pitted
3 tablespoons hazelnut liqueur (optional)
1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon water

Why This Recipe Works

We have a recipe for Sweet Cherry Pie since the season for sour cherries is so short, but we thought this classic deserved a place in our recipe collection. We left all of the pitted cherries whole in our pie; they baked down to a tender and juicy filling that really highlighted the fruit. A full cup of sugar balanced the cherries' tartness. To make this pie extra special, we added hazelnut liqueur to our filling; the nuttiness was a round counterpoint to the bracing berries. To take that flavor profile further, we used our hazelnut pie dough for a sweet-tart, rich summer treat.

Before You Begin

Use a spice grinder to grind the tapioca. We like the flavor of our nut dough made with hazelnuts here, but you can use any double-crust pie dough.

Instructions

  1.  Roll 1 disk of dough into 12-inch circle on floured counter. Loosely roll dough around rolling pin and gently unroll it into 9-inch pie plate, letting excess dough hang over edge. Ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with your hand while pressing into plate bottom with your other hand. Leave any dough that overhangs plate in place. Wrap dough-lined plate loosely in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
  2.  Roll other piece of dough into 13 by 10½-inch rectangle on floured counter, then transfer to parchment paper–lined rimmed baking sheet; cover loosely with plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
  3.  Using pizza wheel, fluted pastry wheel, or paring knife, trim ¼ inch dough from long sides of rectangle, then cut lengthwise into eight 1¼-inch-wide strips. Cover loosely with plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees.
  4.  Whisk sugar, lemon zest, tapioca, and salt together in large bowl. Stir in cherries, lemon juice, and hazelnut liqueur, if using, and let sit for 15 minutes. Spread cherry mixture into dough-lined plate.
  5.  Remove dough strips from refrigerator; if too stiff to be workable, let sit at room temperature until softened slightly but still very cold. Space 4 strips evenly across top of pie, parallel to counter edge. Fold back first and third strips almost completely. Lay 1 strip across pie, perpendicular to second and fourth strips, keeping it snug to folded edges of dough strips, then unfold first and third strips over top. Fold back second and fourth strips and add second perpendicular strip, keeping it snug to folded edge. Unfold second and fourth strips over top. Repeat weaving remaining strips evenly across pie, alternating between folding back first and third strips and second and fourth strips to create lattice pattern. Shift strips as needed so they are evenly spaced over top of pie. (If dough becomes too soft to work with, refrigerate pie and dough strips until firm.)
  6.  Trim overhang to ½ inch beyond lip of plate. Pinch edges of bottom crust and lattice strips together firmly to seal. Tuck overhang under itself; folded edge should be flush with edge of plate. Crimp dough evenly around edge of plate. (If dough is very soft, refrigerate for 10 minutes before baking.) Brush surface with egg wash.
  7.  Place pie on aluminum foil–lined rimmed baking sheet and bake until crust is light golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue to bake until juices are bubbling and crust is deep golden brown, 30 to 50 minutes longer. Let pie cool on wire rack until filling has set, about 4 hours. Serve.

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