Mickey Wreath Pie

Makes one 9″ double-crust pie

Ingredients

Pâte Brisée

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup ice water

Pie Filling

• 1 – 24-oz. bag frozen cherries (about 4 ½ cups), thawed

• Pinch of salt

• ½ cup granulated sugar

• ¼ cup cornstarch

• Lemon juice (optional)

• 1 large egg yolk beaten + 2 tablespoons heavy cream for egg wash

Instructions

1.Make pie crust – To save time you can use refrigerated pie crust. To make from scratch, place the flour, salt, and sugar into a food processor and pulse until well combined.

2. Cube butter and add half to the food processor; pulse. Add the other half of butter cubes; pulse. Mixture should resemble a coarse meal with pieces no larger than peas.

3. Add four tablespoons of ice cold water to the food processor bowl and pulse several times. Then add more ice water, slowly, a teaspoon at a time, pulsing several times after each addition, until the mixture just barely begins to clump together. 

4. Remove the crumbly mixture from the food processor and place on a clean flat surface. Using your hands, press the dough together to form a ball. Divide in half and form each ball into a disk. Wrap the disks in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for one hour.

5. Make filling – To save time you can use canned cherry pie filling. To make from scratch place thawed cherries with their juices in a large saucepan. Add a pinch of salt and 1/2 cup of sugar. Cover and warm over medium-low heat. Simmer until the cherries start to soften and release their juices, about 10-15 minutes. If you think the pie filling is too sweet, add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice.

6 Carefully ladle out ¼ cup of cherry juice and place in a small bowl. Add cornstarch and whisk to combine. Stir into the cherry mixture stirring continuously until thickened. Remove cherries from heat and allow to cool to room temperature before using. 

7. Assemble Pie – When you are ready to roll out the dough, remove the disk from the refrigerator and let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes so that it becomes easier to roll out. Place the dough disk on a lightly floured, clean flat surface. Sprinkle some flour on top of the disk. Roll the dough to a thickness of about 1/8 of an inch thick.

8. Press one rolled dough disk into the bottom of a 9-inch pie plate. Press down so the dough lines the pan without any bubbles or ridges. Prick with the tines of a fork. Add pie filling. Set aside.

9. Make pie top – Roll the second dough disk to a thickness of about 1/8 of an inch thick. Using a bowl or circle template, cut out an 11-inch circle. Using a 4-inch Mickey cookie cutter, cut a Mickey out of the center. Place pie top on top of pie. Seal and crimp the seam between the bottom and top crusts, trim away any excess edges, and baste edge with egg wash.

10. Make lattice edging – Use the remaining pie crust to embelish the pie top. Press pie crust strips into a lattice mold. Create approximately 30 inches of lattice edging. Using a lattice mold, cut out mini Mickey shapes to embelish the edge. Press over the egg washed outer edge of the pie.

11. Create decorations – Using remaining pie crust, cut a 3/4″ x 5″ strip. Fold into a bow shape and adhere to the top of the pie with a bit of egg wash. Finally, use remaining pie crust to cut out eight 1″ Mickey shapes using a cookie cutter. Adhere to the edges of the pie using egg wash. Once the pie is ready to bake, brush with egg wash.

12. Bake – Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes until golden brown on top. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 35-40 minutes. If edges are getting too brown cover them with aluminum foil. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a baking rack to room temperature.