Tillie's Cherry Custard Pie

In honor of President's Day, I decided to make my first foray into the family recipe box be cherry custard pie. I have seen many custard pie recipes but have never found this one in print. It was a struggle to get the recipe out of my nearly 90 year old aunt 20 some years ago. I recently found several copies in Grammy's army green metal recipe box but since it is my dad's favorite pie I am glad I made the effort to get it from Sis. According to Grammy's notes, her mother won a flour company baking contest with this recipe.

Tillie's Cherry Custard Pie
Drain 1 can unsweetened pie cherries (you want to use red tart cherries packed in water) and put in a small saucepan. Add 2/3 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons cornstarch (or 5 tablespoons flour) and 1 tablespoon butter.

Cook over medium heat, stirring so the cherries don't burn.

The cherry mixture will become thick and clear. Remove from heat and cool slightly before spreading in an unbaked pie shell.

In a medium bowl, crack 2 large or 3 medium eggs. See those little white bits? I like to remove those so my custard doesn't wind up with chewy white spots. The easiest way to remove those (or little pieces of shell) is to use the eggshell itself. It cuts through the egg white and does the job much more effectively than a spoon.

Beat the eggs with a whisk, then add 1/3 cup of sugar and 1 3/4 cups of milk.

Finally, add vanilla. The recipe calls for 1 teaspoon but I always use a tablespoon. I also swear by this vanilla - it is the best by far and I am convinced it is why my Christmas sugar cookies are so popular. It is from Blue Cattle Truck Trading Co (available at www.mexicanvanilla.com) and has even been featured on the Martha Stewart show. Not cheap but worth every penny!

Pour the custard mixture over the cherries. The trick is to hold a spoon over the cherries and pour the custard onto the spoon so it will splatter gently over the cherries and remain on top.

The recipe says to bake at 350 for 45 minutes but that is never long enough in my experience. Sometimes I bake it for 60 minutes and sometimes I give it a 15 minute head start at 400 and then turn the oven down to 350. The pie is done when a knife inserted into the custard comes out clean. Sometimes a little cherry juice will bubble up onto the top of the pie but I think that just adds character.

This pie is delicious warm out of the oven but it is also cool and refreshing out of the fridge the next few days - if it lasts that long!