Recipe: Cherry Almond Streusel Pie

I baked this for my parents a while ago, and my father said it was the best pie he'd ever eaten; considering that he's had nearly 85 years in which to sample the competition, I'd say he's a pretty good authority.

1 9-inch deep dish pie crust in pan

Filling:

• 4 cups tart cherries 
• 1/8 cup reserved cherry juice or water 
• 3/4 cup sugar 
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch 
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract 
• 3 tablespoons butter

Streusel:

• 3/4 cup cookie crumbs (I used Nilla wafers) 
• 1/4 cup brown sugar 
• 2 tablespoons ground almonds 
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds 
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place pie pan on a baking sheet.

In a large bowl, combine cherries, cherry juice, sugar, cornstarch, and almond extract; pour into the pie crust. Dot with butter.

In the same bowl, combine the cookie crumbs, brown sugar, ground almonds, cinnamon, and sliced almonds; stir in the melted butter and spread over the cherries.

Bake for 1 hour, until the topping is golden and the filling is starting to bubble up.

Serves 10-12.

This recipe was written by Mary Bilyeu and originally posted on AnnArbor.com on Feb. 16, 2012.