Ingredients
- One 12-ounce package of frozen pitted cherries
- 3 cups of rhubarb diced in 1 ½” pieces
- Two premade pie crusts or homemade
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp almond extract
- 2 Tbs lemon juice
- ⅓ cup cornstarch
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- 1 egg
- 2 Tbs. water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil to catch juices that may overflow.
- In a large bowl, add all the ingredients and toss until everything is evenly distributed.
- Add the first crust to a 9” pie plate and gently press and stretch until the crust touches all sides. Trim any overhanging crust and set aside.
- Prick the bottom of the crust so that it doesn’t bubble up while baking.
- Pour the pie filling ingredients into the crust and level it evenly.
- Take the second crust and lay it across the top of the pie filling.
- Trim off the overhanging crust and set aside.
Using your fingers or a fork, crimp the sides of the pie together to seal it.Directions for making eyeballs:
- Using the leftover crust, combine it to make a ball and roll it out as large as you can while keeping it thick enough that you can still work with it.
- Take a small circular cookie cutter, approximately 1 ½” in diameter, and cut as many circles as possible with your dough.
- Cut each circle into equal halves, and then gently use the back of your knife to create a line near the front of the flat part of your semi-circles.
- Take one cherry and place it in the position you desire.
- Take the semi-circle and lay it over the backside of the cherry with the flat portion at the front part where the cherry should be peaking out from under the lid.
- Gently press around the seams to create an eyelid over an eyeball.
- Take one egg and 2 Tbs of water and thoroughly beat with a fork.
- Use a kitchen brush to apply the egg wash over the entire crust carefully.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 55-60 minutes or until the juices are bubbling.
- Allow to cool, and if desired, use an edible white marker to add lines to the bottom of the lid to add realistic characteristics.
Nutrition
Notes
Pro Tips for the Best Eyeball Pie
- Cool it fully or it will bleed everywhere: cutting a warm fruit pie is how you get soup on the plate. Give it hours, not minutes.
- Drain the frozen fruit: pour off the excess liquid after the filling rests so your bottom crust stays crisp.
- Hot sheet, low rack: a preheated pan on the bottom rack is the best insurance against a soggy bottom.
- Lean into imperfect eyes: uneven sizes and crooked lids make it look more alive and unsettling, which is the whole point.
- Add the white highlight after baking: a tiny edible-marker dot or line under each lid is what tips it from cute to genuinely creepy.
- Restaurant habit, taste your fruit first: cherries and rhubarb vary in tartness, so taste and nudge the sugar to match what you have.