Bourbon Cherry Pie with Cocoa Nibs
This Bourbon Cherry Pie with Cocoa Nibs is for bourbon and cocoa lovers. Dark and bitter chocolate melds beautifully with the vanilla undertones of bourbon and the sweetness of fresh dark cherries.
Ingredients
Crust
- 150 grams salted butter, cold and cut into small cubes 2/3 cups salted butter
- 257 grams flour 2 cups flour
- 16 grams vinegar 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 81 to 161 grams ice water 1/3 to 2/3 cups ice water
Filling
- 941 grams pitted Bing cherries 2 pounds pitted Bing cherries, 3 pounds cherries before pitting
- 226 grams sugar 1 cup + a heaping 1/4 cup sugar
- 50 grams tapioca starch about a 1/2 cup packed tapioca starch
- 30 grams bourbon 2 tablespoons [1 ounce] bourbon
- 17 grams cocoa nibs 2 tablespoons cocoa nibs
- 3 grams Morton Kosher Salt 1/2 teaspoon Morton Kosher Salt
Egg Wash Ingredients
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- 1/8 teaspoon Morton Kosher Salt
Instructions
Crust
- Cut the butter into small cubes and place in a large bowl. I cut them into tablespoon sized squares and cut each square into 9 little squares. Place the butter back in the fridge as you measure out the flour.
- Measure out 2 cups of flour and sift the flour over the butter.
- Use your fingers to massage the butter into the flour, leaving chunks of butter unincorporated.
- Add the tablespoon of vinegar and toss. Add the ice water a tablespoon at a time until the dough is able to hold together when pressed. It should be very cool to the touch, moist enough to hold together, but not wet enough that excess moisture is left behind in the mixing bowl or your hands.
- Separate into equal sized balls of dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Take one of the balls out and dust the counter with flour. Roll the dough into a 14-inch round and drape it into the pie tin. Trim the edges or fold them under to reinforce the sides. Place in the fridge to sit for 2 hours.
- Place some parchment paper on a baking sheet. Roll the other ball of dough into a 10 by 15-inch rectangle and place it on the parchment paper. Place the baking sheet in the fridge and let it sit for 2 hours.
Filling
- While the dough is resting in the fridge, pit the cherries. I pit the cherries by placing a cherry on the neck of a glass bottle and punching a chopstick through the center. The cherry pit then falls into the bottle leaving the pitted cherry behind.
- Adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position and preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Once the crust is almost done resting for 2 hours, combine all the filling ingredients together in a large bowl and mix until well combined.
Egg Wash
- While the dough is resting, whisk together all the egg wash ingredients and set aside for the pie assembly.
Pie Assembly
- Pour the filling into prepared pie crust.
- Cut the dough on the baking sheet into 1-inch strips 10 inches long. Lay half of them in vertical columns an inch apart across the pie.
- Weave the horizontal strips into the vertical, using an over-under pattern. If I start the first horizontal strip over, then the next horizontal strip below will start under.
- Trim the edges with a knife or use a fork to smash the edges to create a fringe.
- Brush the top crust with the egg wash in a thin and even layer.
- Place the pie on a parchment-lined baking sheet (for leaks) and bake for 70 to 85 minutes, until the center of the pie is bubbling. If the crust starts to get too dark, make a foil tent for the pie or place a large baking sheet on the top rack to act as a shield.
- Cool for 3 hours before serving. Cover the pie and store it in the refrigerator if there are leftovers. For leftovers, warm the pie up for 10 minutes in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven.
Notes
Unthaw an equal weight (941 grams) of frozen cherries until softened.
Bourbon can be replaced with lemon or orange juice and you can leave out cocoa nibs or replace it by weight with chocolate chips or zest and spices if you want an especially spiced cherry pie.
Try grinding the cocoa nibs into a powder to prevent biting into small chunks.