Preparation / Directions:
Sift 2 cups flour and 1 tsp. salt into bowl. Cut in 1 cup shortening until mixture is size of small peas. Add 1 beaten egg. Stir into dough, and press mixture evenly into the bottom of an oblong glass baking dish (you can use metal, but the layers look pretty when baked in glass!). Bake for 20 minutes at 425 degrees.
While crust is baking, drain 1 quart jar of pitted pie cherries. Reserve enough canning juice from jar to make 1 cup liquid. (Note: if you don't have the good fortune to be able to can your own pie cherries, buy two cans of pie cherries. Be sure to buy pie cherries, not pie filling!) In a large saucepan, combine pie cherry juice with 3/4 cup sugar, 3 egg yolks, 3 Tb. cornstarch, and 1/4 tsp. red food coloring. Mix and let stand in the pan for 5 minutes. Cook mixture and stir until thick. Add cherries to thickened mixture, then add 2 tsp. lemon juice. Pour cherry mixture onto baked crust.
To make the merengue topping, put 3 egg whites, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar, and a dash of salt into a large bowl and beat with electric mixer until frothy. Once mixture begins to get foamy, add the 3/4 cup sugar, a little at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat until stiff white peaks form. Gently fold chopped walnuts into merengue. Spread merengue over cherry filling. Be sure to take the merengue all the way to the edges of the pan to seal, or the topping may shrink back. With a spatula, swirl the topping to form decorative peaks here and there. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool and cut into squares. Delicious by itself or served with vanilla ice crea
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