Mar-T Cafe’s Garnet Cross Shares Her Twin Peaks Cherry Pie Filling Recipe

March 14 is a great day to celebrate with a delicious slice of cherry pie. When Twin Peaks first aired on the ABC Television Network, fans from around the world descended on the former Mar-T Cafe (now Twede’s Cafe) in North Bend, Washington to try a slice of heavenly pie. Garnet Cross, who began working at the small town diner around 1981, went from making one pie a week to making more than 20. The cafe couldn’t keep pies in stock. Star Bulletin reporter Catherine Enomoto profiled Cross in May 1990.

BAKER GIVES CLUES ABOUT ‘PEAKS’ PIE

Sample an almost-exclusive recipe for “Twin Peaks” cherry-pie filling to sweeten the summer months until the tongue-in-cheek TV series resumes in the fall.

North Bend, Wash., baker Garnet Cross has shared her cherry-filling recipe with only two reporters — the other from the nearby hamlet of Issaquah.

“You’re only the second one. I don’t give any more copies of the recipe,” said Baker, the 72-year-old baker at the now famous Mar-T Cafe. The Mar-T was the setting for the restaurant scenes in which FBI agent Cooper, played by Kyle MacLachlan, enthused over the pastry: “This must be where pies go when they die.”

“Twin Peaks” has raised such a ruckus that Cross has escalated her pie production to six or seven daily for the small town of North Bend, population 1,701.

“I should retire pretty soon, I’m worn out.”

FBI agent Cooper raised Cross’ humble pastry to star status when he waxed poetic over a slice of supposed huckleberry pie. However, Cross said she never bakes huckleberry pie; Cooper must have been tasting blueberry, which she called “a glorified huckleberry.” Cross said her pie repertoire includes apple, blackberry, blueberry and sometimes – pecan. “I also make cream pies – banana, peanut butter-chocolate and coconut-cream,” she said.

The nine-year employee of the Mar-T is also responsible for preparing the eatery’s biscuits and salads. However, she’s been so busy baking pies lately, that’s all she can manage. The price has even gone up.

“A slice was $1.65 the last time I remember. I think the price has gone up. A whole pie in a disposable tin is $8.50, or $10.50 in good pie tins to go,” she added.

Cross was willing to share her filling recipe, which she says she read in Family Circle magazine years ago, but wouldn’t divulge her crust formula.

“I think the secret of my pies is probably the crust. People like it real well. I’ve worked on it for years. I’m getting up in years; I’ve been baking pies for 50 years. It’s no big deal: I’m a widow, I was at home, I worked on a recipe, probably the one my mother had.”

TWIN PEAKS CHERRY PIE RECIPE

• 2 1-pound cans water-pack red cherries
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Few drops red food coloring
• Few drops almond extract, optional
• Double pie crust
• Beaten egg white

Drain cherries and reserve 1/2 cup juice. Combine sugar, corn-starch and salt in a saucepan. Stir in the /2 cup reserved juice. Cook over medium heat, stirring con-stantly until mixture thickens and bubbles, about 1 minute. Add cherries, a few drops of red food coloring and extract.

Pour into prepared crust and cover with top crust. Be sure to cut slits in crust to vent, asin all fruit-pie crusts. Brush top crust with beaten egg white and sprin-kle with a little sugar. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake until crust is golden brown.