Sweet as a Cherry Hand Pie

© Sandra Byrd

When I was a kid, our next-door neighbor baked a killer cheesecake. It was the Goldilocks of cheesecakes, not too heavy, not too light; it was just right. When asked to share the recipe, though, she politely declined. It was a family recipe she’d changed to make her own and her signature dish. “I’ll make one for your any time you ask, though,” she promised. And she did! That was better than having the recipe.

Decades later, I baked my signature chocolate chip cookies for my daughter’s work crew. “They said they’ll pay you if you bake them every month,” my daughter told me. But I didn’t want to bake them for pay. They come from my heart, and my heart is not for sale.

In my new book, Heirlooms, Cassidy Quinn sets her mind and heart on finding a way to keep her family’s property. Everything on the grounds is an heirloom – the house, the barn, the plants, and the delicious food that comes from them. She bakes fabulously flaky and fruity hand pies – her signature dish – but balks at charging for them. When she was growing up, she and her Gran had made them together from the fruit of their land. Cassidy would bake them any time someone asked—but not for money. They came from the heart.

Other women in Heirlooms have recipes that are their signature dishes, too.

Johanna and her Sin Rolls and Eunhee’s Seaweed Soup. When Cassidy delivers a gift to the mother of the man she once thought she’d marry, his mom hands something to her. “Greek walnut cake. You’ll love it. I only make it for family.” Her eyes watered, and so did Cassidy’s. It was not at all clear that they’d ever be family.

Do you have a signature dish, or do you crave one that someone you love bakes or makes? Need a little time to think about it? That’s okay. While you do, why not bake these delicious cherry hand pies, courtesy of Cassidy, me, and Heirlooms?

© Sandra Byrd

Cherry Hand Pies

Ingredients

4 pie crusts. You can buy premade or use whatever recipe you like.

4 Cups Sour Cherries, pitted and, if frozen, thawed and drained (save some of the draining juice)

¾-1 C white sugar. Start low and add to taste

1\2 C King Arthur Pie Enhancer (Once you try this, you’ll never bake pies without it!)

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

2/3 C of the cherry juice, from draining, or water, if the cherries were fresh

Demerara Sugar, for sprinkling

Directions

1. Mix everything but the pie crusts and Demerara sugar over medium heat, constantly stirring, for 5-6 minutes until it’s all jelled and tastes as sweet as you like. The KA Pie Enhancer doesn’t require cooking, but this turns out better if you do, just a little.

2. Roll out the pie crusts. Cut out circles using a 4”-5” biscuit cutter or the rim of a glass. Or, you can cut 3” squares out of the pie crust if you prefer that shape.

3. Place about 2 Tbs pie filling in the middle of the circle or the square. You want about ½ inch margin around the center cherry filling. Fold the crust over the cherries (circle) or place a second piece of crust atop the first (square).

4. Crimp all of the edges, then sprinkle with the Demerara sugar.

5. Bake on a parchment-lined sheet in an oven preheated to 425 degrees for 16-20 minutes, till golden brown. Cool completely before eating.

Originally published at Reading is my Superpower.