Made This?
Let us know what you think in the comments!
A homemade pie is always a worthwhile project, but taking the time to make your own cherry pie filling is something you truly won't regret. In this recipe, I use a mix of tart and sweet cherries for the best balance and ultimate cherry flavor. By cooking the filling first, you'll be sure to get a jammy filling with perfectly cooked cherries. Paired with our perfectly flaky pie crust, this is the ultimate summer dessert. Here's everything you need to know:
What People Are Saying:
“I made this pie to take to a friend's house for dessert after dinner. It was a huge hit. I'll be making this again. Thanks for such a great recipe.” – lunderko13
First, make the filling by adding cherries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, ginger, cinnamon, almond extract, and a large pinch of salt to a large pot over medium heat. I allow the mixture to come to a boil, and then reduce the heat and set it to simmer for about 15 minutes, until the cherries have softened and our liquid has started thickening. When achieved, I take the pot off the heat and let it cool completely.
At this point, I take the dough from the fridge and allow it to sit out at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes. While it's sitting, I lightly flour my rolling surface so that the dough won’t stick. Using a floured rolling pin, I roll both pie crusts out to 12” rounds before transferring one of the rounds to a 9” pie plate and gently pressing the sides down to ensure there are no gaps and the crust adheres to the shape of the pie plate.
Then, I cut the second crust into 1” thick strips—so that I can create the lattice top—placing them on a large cutting board and refrigerating both crusts for 15 minutes. This is important to make sure the crust doesn’t get too warm before baking. We want it cool.
After placing a large baking sheet inside, I preheat the oven to 425° and let come to temp. While I wait, I remove both pie crusts from the fridge and pour the cooled cherry filling over the crust in the pie plate.
To make the lattice top, I lay strips of pie dough running vertically over the filling, leaving a 1” gap between each strip. Then I lift up every other vertical strip and place one horizontal strip across the filling, then lay the vertical strips back down on top. Next, I lift the vertical strips that we left untouched the first go through, and add a new horizontal strip, before laying the vertical strips back down on top. Repeat this alternating process until the top is covered. If any of this seems intimidating, don't worry! Check out our video at the top of the page to see the process from start to finish.
After finishing the lattice, I trim the overhanging edges to an equal length of about a ½” overhang. Then, I pinch the top and bottom crusts together and tuck the overhang back in under itself and into the pie plate, so that the edge of the pie crust is flush with the edge of the pie plate. Here we can have some fun. I like to crimp the edges to form a sort of wave pattern, but you can chose whatever edge shape you like.
Almost done! I brush the tucked and crimped crust with beaten egg and sprinkle with turbinado sugar so that the crust will have a nice golden finish when baked. We want to make sure to pop the uncooked pie back into the fridge one last time for about 30 minutes (or until firm) to once again ensure that the crust is cold before baking.
Once chilled, I carefully place the pie onto the preheated baking sheet in the oven, and bake for 25 minutes, then reduce the heat to 375° to finish baking for another 45 to 60 minutes until the crust is a deep golden brown and the cherry filling is bubbling. Finally, I remove the pie from the oven and allow it to cool completely before slicing and serving.
The full list of ingredients and instructions can be found in the recipe below.
You can make the pie dough ahead of time. Wrapped, uncooked dough will keep in the refrigerator for 3 days and for up to 1 month in the freezer. Similarly, you can make your cherry pie filling up to 3 days before use, when properly store in an airtight container in the fridge.
fresh cherries, pitted, halved
(200 g.) granulated sugar
cornstarch
Juice of 1/2 lemon
ground cinnamon
ground ginger
almond or vanilla extract
Large pinch of kosher salt
(14.1-oz.) pkg. store-bought pie dough or 2 batches homemade pie dough (2 crusts)
All-purpose flour, for dusting
large egg, lightly beaten
Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling
Let us know what you think in the comments!