I grew up within walking distance from my grandparents.  Our house was down the hill from theirs and when Nannie was ready for me, she would stand on her back porch and wave.  Off I would go, cutting across the pasture, headed to the waiting arms of my Nannie.  She knew cherry pie was my favorite and as far back as I can remember, hot cherry pie was waiting for me as I ran in the door.

Once out on my own, I thought I would re-create her cherry deliciousness.  I carefully followed every step of her recipe... remembering (I thought) the little tips she had given me throughout the years.  Things were going beautifully until it was time to roll out the dough.  As I took the dough from the bowl, it seemed to get instantly sticky; much stickier than it was in the bowl.  As I went to drop the dough on the 'perfectly floured' countertop, it just hung from my fingers.  So, I shook my hands and pulled the dough from my fingers...and eventually it was all on the counter...well most of it! (The rest was down the drain!)

I floured the rolling pin and began to roll...well, at least I tried to roll.  Instead of rolling out flat, the dough began to wrap itself around the pin! Remembering what had just happened, I quickly floured my hands and pulled the dough from the pin.  I floured the board and the pin again, then proceeded to roll.  Now, I'm sure I was doing exactly what I was told to do, but that dough was relentless!  It stuck to everything; the board, the pin, my hands and anything else it touched.  So I decided I would show it who was boss.  I floured it, floured it again and then decided to flour it one more time for good measure.  Well, I guess I was a tad bit aggressive with the flour, because now the dough looked like a Texas yard  in August...dry and brittle.  There was no way this dough was ever going to stick together, so in the trash it went.

I would love to say I tried again and had better results, but that would not be true.  I did try again. And again! I had flour everywhere...literally!  As I looked around, I realized that I now had a perfectly floured kitchen, but no crust, so I gave up.  As a matter of fact, for years I gave up on making anything that required rolling out.  Ready-made crusts and pull apart cookies became the norm.

Then, I decided last year that I was going to tackle making pie crusts again.  This time, I went through every cookbook I had until I found a recipe that would work for me.  And I did - Best Ever Pie Crust.  Because this dough is moister than most, when I flour (and yes, I do flour!), I don't ruin it!  Yay!  So, now I happily bake pies any time my family asks...and no more dough monsters and floured kitchen!

Cherry Pie with Best Ever Pie Crust Ingredients

Pie Crust:  (recipe can be doubled for two pie crusts...I prefer to make the two crust separately using single recipe)

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup shortening
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 5 tablespoons water

Filling:

• 2 (16 ounce) cans tart cherries
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• red food coloring
• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine

Directions:

In a bowl, combine flour and salt; cut in shortening until crumbly.  Place egg, vinegar and water in a bowl and mix until well blended.  Add the flour mixture and work together.  (If double recipe, divide dough in half.) Roll out and place in 9" pie plate for bottom crust. (Note:  This pie crust will seem a little moist, but will roll out beautifully.)

Drain cherries, reserving 1/4 cup juice. Mix cherries, juice, sugar, tapioca, extract, salt and food coloring if desired; pour into the crust. Dot with butter . Top with a lattice crust. Bake at 375 degrees F for 55-60 minutes.