My Cherry Pie with Crumb Topping has a tender, flaky crust loaded with juicy cherries in a thick sauce and buttery crumbles on top baked to a golden brown.
Add the flour, sugar, salt, butter and shortening to a food processor. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Add the chilled vodka, a tablespoon at a time, until dough comes together (don’t add any more vodka). You want just enough to bind the dough together.
Remove dough from processor and form into 2 flat oval discs and wrap in plastic wrap. Freeze one (for up to a month) for later use. Chill other in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Crumb Topping
Make the crumb topping by combining all ingredients in a small bowl, mixing to create coarse crumbles with a fork. Set aside.
Cherry Filling
In a bowl, combine the cherry filling ingredients, tossing to mix thoroughly and cherries are coated.
Assembly
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Remove chilled dough from the refrigerator and unwrap. On a floured work surface, roll dough out to 1/4 inch thick, working from the center outwards.
I carefully roll the dough back onto the rolling pin, lift up and unroll it into a 9 inch pie pan. Gently press dough into pan bottom and up sides. Trim excess dough from the edges and crimp.
Pour cherry filling into pie shell and sprinkle the crumb topping over all. Bake for 35-40 minutes on a lined baking sheet. Top should be golden brown and fruit bubbling.
Notes
Unlike water, alcohol does not contribute to the formation of gluten, the network of proteins that can cause a crust to turn leathery. Because the alcohol burns off quickly in the oven, drying out the crust, we could add enough vodka to keep the dough wet and extremely supple.
Fresh or frozen cherries can be used, just drain excess water from thawed frozen. Using the canned version with the "sauce" is pretty flavorless and just a sauce thickened by cornstarch. I find the ratio of cherries to sauce in those 1 part cherries to 2 parts sauce and go for the fresh or frozen. If you do use them, double up after draining the sauce to get the right amount of cherries needed.