Sweet Recipes for Some Tart Cherries

To make a woven lattice top for pies and cobblers:

Roll the pastry into the desired shape (round for the sour cherry pie; rectangle for the quilted sour cherry cobbler) slightly larger than the size of the pan. Cut strips ( 3/4-inch wide for pie, 1-inch or slightly wider for cobbler) using a fluted or straight-edge pastry wheel, a pastry scraper or a sharp knife.

Arrange a layer of pastry strips parallel to one another on top of the fruit filling, spacing them about 3/4 inch apart. Gently fold every other pastry strip a little more than halfway back over itself. Place another pastry strip across the center of the filling, perpendicular to the other strips. Unfold the strips so they lie over the center strip. Now fold back the strips that weren't folded before. Place another pastry strip perpendicular to the folded strips, spacing it about 3/4 inch from the other strip, and unfold the folded strips back over it. Continue weaving, folding back alternate strips with each cross-strip added, until one side of the pie or cobbler is completely woven. Then weave the opposite side using the remaining strips.

For a round pie, trim the strips, leaving a slight ( 1/2-inch to 1-inch) overhang at the edge of the pie. Fold the trimmed strips under the bottom crust and press together; flute or crimp the edge.

For a rectangular cobbler, trim the lattice strips so that they are flush with the edge of the baking dish.

Sour Cherry Pie

One 9-inch pie

I am a cherry pie purist. I use a minimum of ingredients because I want my pie to taste like cherries. I use as little flour as possible to thicken the filling because I want it to be juicy, not starchy like canned pie filling. If the pie is still very juicy once it has cooled, simply pour out a bit of the liquid.

Pie crust for double-crust pie (store-bought or homemade), chilled

1/4 cup flour, plus additional for work surface

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 quarts (6 to 7 cups) fresh sour cherries, carefully washed, stemmed and pitted (may substitute sour cherries jarred in juice, drained and patted dry)

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into small pieces