Grandma’s Super Secret Cherry Pie
My grandmother on my mom’s side makes 2 things that I can’t live without, cherry pie and this thing we call hoho cake. The hoho cake is far and away my favorite dessert on earth, but it’s a pain in the butt to make. A couple of years ago I asked her to walk me through the recipe only to find out there are like 30 steps involved. I gave up before I even tried it. One of these days I’ll give it a go, but I already know it’s going to test my patience. The thing reads more more like a Harry Potter spell than a recipe for cake. I swear there is even a step that states, “stir exactly 7 times and then check consistency.” Needless to say, when I decided that I just had to make my grandmother’s cherry pie for Thanksgiving this year I was more than a little worried that I wouldn’t be up to the task. I even had to psych myself up before I called her for the recipe. Only once I had my paper and pen all laid out and ready to go did I dial her number.
After we got the pleasantries out of the way I asked her if she minded telling me how to make her special cherry pie. I told her that I wanted to know exactly how she made hers because I wanted mine to taste just like hers always did. I told her that I was ready to take down all her instructions and any helpful hints she could give me and I also mentioned that I didn’t mind having to wait while she went and found her recipe. This was how that whole conversation played out.
Me: “I can wait while you get the recipe gram.”
Gram: “No I don’t need it, I know this one off the top of my head.”
Wow, that’s impressive I thought to myself.
Me: “Okay, I’m ready!”
Gram: “First you need to buy one of those Pillsbury pie crust. You know what I’m talking about right? You can find them in the cooler section.”
“Okay,” I said. Secretly I was a little upset though. I mean I was all prepared to hand make my own dough and roll it out. I even found our little used rolling pin before I called to make sure I had one. The image of my grandmother standing in her kitchen wearing an apron and covered in flour started to get a little fuzzy in my mind. Oh well, I could roll with this. I mean this could totally be a good thing right? Ready made crust meant I could really focus on the filing. Yeah, perfect.
Me: “I got it gram, I know where to find ready made crust. Go ahead with the rest.”
Grandma: “Then you need to buy 3 cans of cherry pie filling.”
Me: “Three whole cans? What brand?”
Gram: “Any brand will do. I normally use whatever is on sale.”
Me: “Okay, then what?”
Gram: “Then you add an eighth of a teaspoon of almond extract, a pinch of nutmeg, and some ….”
Me: “Wait, wait, how much is a pinch?”
Gram: “Um, it’s just a pinch. I don’t know I just grab a tiny bit and sprinkle it around.”
Me: “Um, sure go ahead.”
Gram: “Then I add 3 drops of red food coloring.”
Me: “Isn’t it already red?”
Gram: “Yes.”
Me: “So why add red food coloring?”
Gram: “Because I like it to be really red.”
Me: “Okay, it’s your pie. What else?”
Gram: “That’s it. Then you put the pie crust on the top, cut some slits in it and bake it per the instructions on the pie crust box.”
Me: “Are you kidding me? I mean I could spit in the pie and give it more flavor than an eighth of a teaspoon of almond extract!”
Gram: “Nope that’s all I do.”
Now I could see why she had no trouble remembering the recipe off the top of her head. Let me find out all these years I could’ve just opened a can of cherry pie filling and dipped strips of pre-made pie crust in it and had “My Grandmother’s” cherry pie.
Well, there you have it. Now you all know the super secret recipe. Enjoy! I did and this Thanksgiving I gave thanks for simple recipes.
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