My Cherry Pie

My sister-in-law, Holly, gave me the idea to add applesauce to huckleberry pie, to thicken it. (We had just gone berry picking in the Blue mountains) I tried it and it was wonderful. I transferred the idea to my cherry pie recipe, which always turned out a little runny. Not any more! This is so much better that the canned filling!

prepared double PIE CRUST
3/4 c. sugar
4 T. flour
2 cans red tart cherries in water
1 c. applesauce
1/8 tsp. almond extract
*2-3 drops red food coloring
1 T. butter
1 tsp. milk
1 tsp. sugar

Heat oven to 400°. Drain the cherries, reserving juice from one can. In a saucepan, combine sugar and flour. Stir in cherry juice and cook over MED HI heat, stirring constantly with whisk, until thickened. Stir in applesauce and continue stirring until thick. Remove from heat. Gently stir in cherries, almond extract, and food coloring, if desired. Roll out bottom crust and line pie plate. Pour cherries into crust. Dot with bits of butter. Roll out top crust, cutting vents for steam to escape, and cover pie. Seal top and bottom crusts together. Brush top with a little milk and sprinkle with sugar. *To prevent over-browning of crust, see APPLE PEAR PIE instructions for foil edge. Bake 30-40 minutes, until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool pie to allow filling to thicken. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.