Sour cherry pie with hard sauce printer-friendly version

Our dad's favorite pie, this is not nearly as sweet as typical cherry pies. But you can top it with a gob of hard sauce, which is ultra-sweet, so it all cancels out.

Drain 2 16-oz. cans of tart cherries; reserve 1/2 c. juice. Mix cherries and juice with 1 cup sugar, 2 1/2 Tbs. tapioca*, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp. vanilla. Let stand 15 minutes to set the tapioca.

Turn into 9-inch pie crust; top with crust; cut slits. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for another 30 minutes.

Hard sauce: Cream slightly less than 1/2 cup butter. Blend in 2 cups of confectioner’s sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla, rum, or brandy. Mold into a mound; sprinkle with nutmeg. Chill. CAUTION: This recipe makes too much hard sauce for one pie. For some reason, I've never corrected that. Well, you've been warned.

*Can substitute cornstarch.