Chocolate-Almond Topped Cherry Pie

Coat a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray. Unfold phyllo dough; place one sheet of the phyllo on a clean work surface. (As you work, cover the remaining phyllo with plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out.) Coat the phyllo sheet with cooking spray. Top with a second sheet of the phyllo dough. Coat with cooking spray. Gently press into the pie plate, allowing ends to extend over edge of plate. Coat and layer another two sheets of the phyllo dough; place across phyllo in plate in a crisscross fashion. Coat and layer the last two sheets of the phyllo dough; place at an angle over phyllo sheets in plate to completely cover the edge of the plate. Turn under some of the edges of the phyllo dough to form a somewhat even edge.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

In a large saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Stir in cherries. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Stir in almond extract. Cool completely, stirring occasionally. Pour into cooled phyllo crust. Serve within 2 hours of cooling.

To serve, top cherry filling with almonds. To make chocolate curls, draw a vegetable peeler across the narrow side of the chocolate. Arrange chocolate curls on the pie.