Pulse the flour and salt together in the bowl of a food processor. Add the butter and shortening.

Pulse until the the mixture resembles coarse meal. You are looking for a pea-sized bits. A few larger bits of fat is OK.

Measure 1/2 cup of water in a cup. Add ice. Stir it around.

From the ice water, measure 1/2 cup water. You won't need it all because the ice will have melted a bit.

Drizzle the cold water into the food processor, while running, about a tablespoon at a time. Use a rubber scraper to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Transfer the pie dough to a floured work surface. The dough should come together easily in your hands and should not feel overly sticky. Using floured hands, fold the dough into itself until the flour is fully incorporated into the fats.

Form it into a ball. Cut dough in half. Flatten each half into 1-inch thick discs using your hands.

Wrap each tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 5 days.

When rolling out the chilled pie dough discs to use in your pie, always use gentle force with your rolling pin. Start from the center of the disc and work your way out in all directions, turning the dough with your hands as you go. Visible specks of butter and fat in the dough are perfectly normal and expected!

Place the frozen cherries in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until berries are thawed and most the water has evaporated, about 10-15 minutes. Add cornstarch, sugar, salt, vanilla, and lemon juice and continue cooking over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer, and continue stirring until the mixture starts to thicken – about 8-10 minutes. Reduce heat to low and cook for another 2 minutes. Transfer to a heatproof bowl and cool to room temperature.

Remove the dough from the fridge 10 minutes before you begin rolling to prevent cracking.

Lightly flour a rolling pin and your work surface.

Place the dough in the middle of your work surface. Beginning from the center of the disc, roll the dough away from you in one firm and even stoke. After each stroke, rotate the disc a quarter turn and roll again. Lightly sprinkle more flour on the work surface, on the dough, and on the rolling pin as needed, but don't overdo it. You want to use just enough to prevent the dough from sticking. As your dough of dough becomes larger, be careful not to overstretch the center of the dough.

Continue rolling until the dough is about 3 inches larger than the pan you are using, and about a 1/4" thick.

Gently fold the dough in half and lay it across one side of a buttered pie pan. Carefully unfold the crust, then fit the dough down into the pan, making sure there are no gaps between the dough and the pan. Poke holes in the dough with a fork to burst any air bubbles.

Trim the excess dough, leaving about 1 1/2 inches overhang.

Refrigerate pie while preparing the lattice strips.

On a lightly floured surface, roll your second ball of pie crust dough into a 12 inch circle.

Using a pizza cutter, slice the dough into 10 strips. I like tomato my strips 1 inch thick because I find they are easier to work with. You can have wider ore narrower strips.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees (F).

Add cherry pie filing to the crust. Discard most of the remaining liquid at the bottom. Dot the top of the pie with little pieces of butter.

Starting with the longest strip, lay it horizontally across the center of the pie. Evenly place two additional strips below and above the center strip.

Fold back every other strip, then place another strip of dough vertically across the pie. Unfold the folded strips so they lay over the perpendicular strip. Continue this layering process, weaving the strips over and under each other until all the strips have been used and the pie is covered in lattice.

Trim the edges of the strips, leaving about 1/2 inch overhang. Crimp the edges to secure the strips to the bottom pie crust.

Make an egg wash by beating one egg with 1 tablespoon of water. Lightly brush the edges of the crust with the egg wash and sprinkle with sugar, if desired.

Place the pie on a baking sheet in the lower half of the oven and bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.

Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking for 50 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling.

Place pie plate on a wire rack and cool for at least 2 hours before slicing.