Bourbon Sour Cherry Pie

Ingredients

For the Pie Dough
• 2.5 cups of pastry flour (if you don't have pastry flour, substitute with 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour and 3/4 cup cake flour.)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 sticks (16 Tbsp) unsalted butter, diced and chilled
• 1/4 cup cold water
For the Filling
• 3.5 Tbsp cornstarch
• 3 Tbsp water
• 3/4 cup bourbon
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 5 cups (2-2.5 lbs) sour cherries, pitted and halved
• 1 egg, for egg wash
• coarse sugar (such as turbinado or sanding) for garnishing crust

Instructions

For the Filling
1. In a small bowl, combine water and cornstarch. Mix until fully combined.
2. In a medium saucepan, heat bourbon on medium-high heat. Once it begins to boil, add the water/cornstarch mixture and continue to boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
3. Remove mixture from heat and add sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, almond extract, and vanilla extract. Stir until fully mixed. Add cherries and stir until coated well. Place filling mixture in the refrigerator until cool.
For the Pie Dough
4. In a medium bowl, combine flour and salt. Using a pastry blender or two forks, cut in butter until mixture forms small pea-sized balls.
5. Slowly add water and toss mixture lightly with a fork until dough forms a single ball and pulls away from edge of bowl. If needed, add more water in very small increments until no dry ingredients left in bowl. Divide dough into 2 equal portions. Wrap each in plastic wrap and chill for 20 minutes.
6. Flour table well and roll out 1 portion of dough into a circle approximately 1/8" thick and 11-12" in diameter. Use caution at this step to ensure that dough does not stick to rolling pin or table. (Immediately dust rolling pin and table if dough begins to stick.) Roll finished dough onto floured pin and unroll into pie pan.
7. Fill pie pan with Filling.
8. Repeat rolling process with the 2nd portion of dough, stopping after it has been rolled into a circle. Using a pizza cutter, cut dough into 12-14 strips approximately 3/4"-1" in diameter. Lay 5-7 strips horizontally across the pie, leaving space between each strip. Fold every other horizontal strip back and lay a new vertical strip perpendicular to the original strips. Unfold strips and then fold back the alternate horizontal strips. Place a new piece of vertical dough next to the first. Repeat this process of folding and unfolding every other strip until the lattice design is complete. (See picture tutorial in the post above for help!)
9. Pinch the edges of the pie dough together, and then use culinary scissors to cut off extra dough. Crimp the edges with a fork.
10. Beat the egg in a small bowl, and then brush the egg wash across the top of the exposed pie dough. (You will likely not use the entire egg for this.)
11. Sprinkle pie dough with a generous amount of turbinado or sanding sugar.
12. Bake at 425 for 45-48 minutes, or until pie crust turns golden brown in color.
13. Allow pie to cool before slicing.

Notes