Maple Products

Bright red fresh tart cherries + maple sugar = yummy cherry pie!

My cherry trees produced really well this year so I wanted to enjoy the bounty.  I love the contrast of tart cherries and maple sugar.  I don’t have a cherry pitter so I used a chop stick to remove the pits (although another year I may invest in a manual pitter).  I use maple sugar in my pies – you substitute 1:1 white to maple in any recipe you use.  The tart cherries are balanced by the sweet maple sugar.

For 9-inch Two Crust Pastry

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup shortening
• 6-7 Tablespoons ice cold water

Combine the flour and salt. Cut in the shortening using a pastry blender or food processor on “pulse.”Combine lightly until the mixture resembles course meal or really tiny peas.Sprinkle water over the mixture 1 Tbsp at a time and mix lightly with a fork or your hands.(If you used a food processor, transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl before adding the water.)

Cherry Filling

• 2 cups Fresh cherries – pitted
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 cup Maple Sugar
• 2 tablespoons tapioca
• 1 1/2 tablespoons corn starch

   Best served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream sprinkled with maple sugar