Cherry Pie

I have a sour cherry tree in my backyard and I absolutely LOVE it! I've made LOADS of jam and like 12 pies. A few of my pies were fantastic, but a bit on the sour side. (a bit as in, it was so sour I had to put like a tbsp of sugar on top in order to eat it!) Then I made some that were definitely sweet enough but I realized that because I added SO much sugar, the filling was a bit too liquid. But I did manage to make a few perfect pies that tasted pretty fantastic. So for my own future reference and your enjoyment, here is the recipe:
*If using sweet cherries, add half the amount of sugar*

Sour Cherry Pie

-3 to 4 C fresh cherries, pitted
-1 C of cherry juice 
-3 Tbsp corn starch
-1/3 C brown sugar + 1/3 C brown sugar
-1/4 C white sugar
-1/2 tsp almond extract
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-double pie pastry

-To get the cherry juice, drain the cherries after you have pitted them. Add water to get 1 C or boil some extra cherries in a little water and drain the juice off that. (imperfect cherries are good for this)
-Sift together the corn starch and sugars into a saucepan. Whisk in the cherry juice.
-Stir over med-low heat until the mixture thickens and starts to boil. Continue to boil for about 2-3 minutes,
-Add the extra 1/3 C of brown sugar and mix until smooth and the sugar has dissolved, about 1 minute.
-Remove from heat and mix in the flavorings
-Let cool and then fold in the cherries

-Roll out the pie dough and place into the bottom of a pie pan. Fill with cherry mixture to just below the top (you DO NOT want to over fill or your cherries will boil over TIP: bake your pie on a cookie sheet to avoid possible overspill and mess)
-Brush the edges of the pie with milk
-Roll out the remaining dough and place on top, or cut strips of dough out and make a lattice crust for the top.
-Brush the top with milk and sprinkle a little sugar on top.

Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes or until the crust is a nice golden brown in the middle. OR you can wrap the pie in plastic wrap and freeze it. 

Note: You will probably get enough sauce for about 2 pies, depending on your sauce to cherry ratio. I like less sauce and more cherries, so I can make the sauce stretch for about 2 8in pies. It really depends on personal preference. Sometimes I add more sugar to the sauce after it thickens if I'm in the mood for a sweeter and less tart pie. If you do add more sugar, make sure it's after the mixture thickens (speaking from many trials and errors, do not do this before it thickens because it will literally take FOREVER for the starch to cook) If you do add more sugar, the sauce won't be as thick, so you should sprinkle about 1-2 tsp of flour over the cherry mixture before adding the top crust and it should help thicken the sauce so it's less runny.
*Update* I made the pie again today, adding the extra 1/3 C brown sugar to the sauce after it had thickened (I added this to the recipe because I didn't think it was sweet enough and it was the sauce was almost too thick without it) I had also tossed my sour cherries with a little white sugar, just enough to coat them after I pitted them, so I then also sprinkled 1 tsp of flour over the pie before I put a lattice top on and it turned out quite nice, not too runny and not too thick.

This sauce freezes well and can be used at a later time to make pie or use as a filling for Black Forest Cake.