Sandy Lane Cherry Pie

Here's a delicious recipe that's great for all doshas. At our last “family” dinner, my friends unanimously voted this the best cherry pie ever.

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Yield: 1 (9-inch) pie

Filling

• 1 pound ripe cherries, pitted, or frozen pitted cherries, thawed

• 1/4 cup coconut sugar or dehydrated cane juice

• 1/4 cup arrowroot starch

• Juice of 1 lemon

• 1 tablespoon lecithin powder (optional)

Crust

• 2 tablespoons coconut oil

• 1/2 cup raw almonds or Brazil nuts

• 2 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs

• Pinch salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. To soften the coconut oil, put it on the warm stovetop. Oil a 9-inch glass pie pan with 1 teaspoon of the coconut oil.

2. To make the filling, bring the cherries, sugar, arrowroot, and lemon juice to a boil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Decrease the heat. Simmer, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes, or until the cherries release their juice and the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat. Stir in the optional lecithin. Set aside.

3. To make the crust, pour the almonds, gingersnaps, and salt into a food processor or blender. Process until ground to a coarse meal, stopping occasionally to scrape down the work bowl. Add the remaining coconut oil and process again briefly. Reserve 1/2 cup of the gingersnap mixture. Pour the remaining mixture into the prepared pie pan. Press the mixture evenly into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Pour in the cherry filling. Sprinkle the reserved 1/2 cup of gingersnap mixture over the top. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the gingersnap topping is golden brown.

Note:

Initially, I was daunted by the task of pitting so many cherries. But then I found such a simple way to do it that I actually look forward to it now. Here’s how: Remove the stem of the cherry. Hold a chopstick in one hand and the cherry in your other hand. The little indentation where the stem meets the fruit is where you will pit the cherry. Jab the cherry’s indentation with the tip of the chopstick, being careful not to poke yourself. If you aim it right, the cherry’s pit will pop right out through the other end. A cherry pitter works, too; I’m just a rebel.

Used with Permission of and the authors.