Fresh Sweet Cherry Crumble Pie

Ok, so, I recently had the gang over for dinner. Usually we have some kind of theme, and this theme was going to be Southern BBQ comfort food. I had the whole menu planned: Oven BBQ Chicken, Bacon Collard Greens, Potato and Onion Bundles, Baked Bean Casserole, with Sweet Tea, of course, and a deliciously easy Eclair Cake for dessert. Sounds good, right? So the next step was to make grocery lists and do the shopping.
 As I was walking through the produce section of the grocery store, I noticed there were TONS of fabulous gorgeous beautifully ripe fresh cherries. I thought "ooo they look good, better get some in case I need an extra dessert." I had no idea what I'd be making or if I'd even have time, but I bought them anyway.
 After I finished cooking and prepping everything, I found myself with a bunch of extra time, (which is NOT the norm, btw), so I started looking for something to do with the cherries. Since we were doing a southern theme, I knew it had to be a pie. And this was the result! It's just a basic pie, but OMG it was so good! It was sweet and juicy and absolutely amazing. The only thing that would make this pie any better would be a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. So the moral of the story is if you see fresh produce that looks particularly good, definitely buy it!!! 


 One crust pie, (either purchased or your own)

Filling:
5-6 cups sweet cherries, fresh and pitted (or frozen)
1/2 brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 tbs cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt

Crumble topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
4 tbs cold butter


Preheat oven to 350F.
Roll out pie dough and fit crust to a 9-inch pie plate. Flute (crimp) the dough to make a decorative edge. set aside.
In a large bowl, combine cherries (do not defrost if using frozen) with 1/2 cup brown sugar, vanilla extract, almond extract, cinnamon, cornstarch, and 1/8 tsp salt. Stir gently with a spatula to combine.
In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/3 cup all purpose flour, remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar, oats, and remaining 1/8 tsp salt. Cut butter into small pieces and rub into flour mixture until butter is well-incorporated and mixture resembles wet sand.
Pour cherry mixture into prepared crust. Top evenly with crumble topping.
Bake for 70-75 minutes, until the pie is well browned and the filling is bubbling. Allow pie to cool completely before slicing.

Tips:
 If you're using fresh cherries, you simply MUST purchase a cherry pitter. It's absolutely essential! I'm all for using fresh fruit over frozen, but if you don't have a cherry pitter, just go with the frozen or choose another kind of fruit. You should really buy one, though. Looks like a big ear piercer! hee hee
 If you're using sour cherries, you can bump up the sugar a little. Best thing to do is taste one of the cherries after you've tossed them with the other filling ingredients. If everything is balanced, you're good to go.