This cherry pie recipe with maple syrup and mascarpone is actually easy as pie. It's probably the easiest pie you'll ever make. And it's delicious. Now, time to bust out the picnic blanket.

I never really understood the saying "easy as pie." There's nothing easy about pie. Eating pie is easy. Is that what they meant by it? If so, I feel like someone needs to clarify.

You know what is easy? This pie. Making this cherry pie is easy. This recipe takes about one full episode of Elmo to cook down some cherries with sugar and lay them over mascarpone slathered on store-bought pastry dough.

This is a pie for those of you who, like me, aren't really bakers. We'd like to be a baker, and we'd like the world to think we're skilled at baking. But if we're honest with ourselves, we just can't be bothered to tediously measure out the right amount of flour.

I made this pie because I was looking for ways to use up some extra cherry sauce from another recipe, and I had a tub of Mascarpone in my fridge that was nearing its expiration date. For whatever reason, I always have pasty dough in my freezer. And because I'm leaving to visit my folks in Alabama for two weeks, I don't want anything left rotting in the fridge. (Knowing my husband, he'll only open the fridge to get sparkling water and salami while we're gone.) Also, it's summer. And summer needs cherry pie.

Anyway, this cherry pie turned out delicious and beautiful, so I felt the need to share for all the non-bakers out there.

COOKING NOTES

A high-quality maple syrup is what really makes the difference here. It brings all the fun flavors.

MAKES 8 SERVINGS

PREP TIME: 5 minutes COOK TIME: 30 minutes TOTAL TIME: 35 minutes

INGREDIENTS

2 cups pitted cherries
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
2 sheets pastry dough rounds
Powdered sugar, for dusting

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat oven to 400°F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, add the cherries, maple syrup, vanilla extract and 1/2 cup water. Bring to boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook until the cherries are deflated, the liquid has reduced by half and the whole thing is syrupy, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool.
Lay one round of pastry dough on the prepared sheet pan. Evenly spread the mascarpone on over it, leaving a 1-inch border. Add the cooled cherries and their syrup, reserving about 2 tablespoons of the syrup for garnish.
Place the other round of pastry dough on top and crimp the edges shut. Cut four little slices on the top of the pie. Transfer the pie to the oven and bake until the pastry dough is slightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let cool slightly. Drizzle with the reserved syrup and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Slice and serve.

The easiest maple mascarpone cherry pie