Homemade Cherry Pie

Here it is! Taste Recipes’s best homemade cherry pie. What makes it the best, though? Every aspect is homemade, from the thick, fresh, almond-scented cherry filling to the flaky double-crust pie with a quintessential woven lattice top. Seriously, the hardest part about our homemade cherry pie recipe is waiting for it to cool. Cherry pie desserts abound, but nothing beats this down-home classic.

Ingredients for Homemade Cherry Pie

• Dough: Every aspect of this homemade cherry pie recipe is made from scratch—even the pie crust! We opt for shortening because it makes the crust very flaky, but feel free to use a classic butter pie crust or lard pie crust in its place. Be sure you’re making enough for two pie crusts: one for the bottom and one for the lattice top.
• Sugar: The homemade cherry pie filling is sweetened with granulated sugar. Light brown sugar can be used in a pinch, but avoid dark brown sugar; its flavor is too overwhelming.
• Cornstarch: This is the secret ingredient when it comes to thickening the cherry filling so it doesn’t run all over the pie plate after cutting the first slice.
• Cherry juice blend: You can find cherry juice blend in the juice section of the grocery store. If your grocery store doesn’t sell it, substitute it with cranberry juice, orange juice, the leftover juice from the thawed frozen cherries (if using) or water with a squeeze of lemon juice.
• Cherries: Feel free to use fresh or frozen cherries in this recipe for cherry pie. Make cherry pie with fresh cherries if you want to use up the stone fruit when it’s in season, but frozen cherries work in a pinch if they’re out of season.
• Spices: Cinnamon and nutmeg warm up the flavors of homemade cherry pie filling. You’ll be surprised at just how well these fall spices pair with summer cherries and nutty almond extract.
• Almond extract: Did you know that almonds and cherries belong to the same genus of stone fruit trees? That’s why they taste so similar, and why you’ll find so many cherry desserts that contain almonds or almond extract.

Directions

Step 1: Boil the cherry pie filling

Preheat the oven to 425°F. In a large saucepan, combine the sugar and cornstarch, then gradually stir in the cherry juice blend until the mixture is smooth. Bring the mixture to a boil, and cook and stir until it’s thickened, about two minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat.

Step 2: Add the cherries and spices

Add in the cherries, cinnamon, nutmeg and almond extract and stir to combine.

Step 3: Make the pie dough

In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour and salt. Cut in the shortening until the mixture is crumbly. Gradually add the cold water 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing the mixture with a fork until a ball forms. You may not need all the cold water.

Divide the pie dough in half, making one half slightly larger than the other. Form the two portions into balls.

Step 4: Roll out the pie dough

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the larger pie dough ball to fit a 9-inch pie plate. Transfer the pie dough to the plate and trim it so it’s even with the edge. Pour in the cherry pie filling.

Step 5: Add the lattice top

Roll out the remaining pie dough and make a lattice pie crust. Seal and flute the edge, then brush with an egg wash, if desired.

Editor’s Tip: Using a pastry cutter or pizza cutter, cut the pie dough into 1/2-inch-long strips. Arrange half the strips on top of the pie filling so they’re parallel to each other, leaving a little room in between the pie strips. Fold back every other pie strip, then place one pie strip perpendicular. Fold the pie strips back over the perpendicular strip. Repeat this process, alternating the strips as you go. If making a lattice pie crust seems like a bit too much work, feel free to cover the top with rolled-out pie dough, adding slits so steam can escape. Or try a different (and much easier) decorative pie crust.

Step 6: Bake

Bake the cherry pie for 10 minutes. Without opening the oven door, reduce the heat to 375°. Bake until the pie crust is golden brown, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool the cherry pie on a wire rack.

Editor’s Tip: Whenever I bake a fruit pie, I place a sheet tray on the rack underneath the one that the pie is on, just in case the fruit filling starts bubbling over. It’s much easier to clean a sheet tray than the bottom of an oven!

Allison Cebulla for Taste Recipes

Recipe Variations

• Make it boozy: Omit a few tablespoons of the cherry juice blend and replace them with kirsch, brandy or bourbon for a boozy addition to this recipe for fresh cherry pie.
• Add other fruits: Feel free to replace some of the cherries with another tart fruit like raspberries, fresh cranberries or rhubarb (which, yes, is technically a vegetable). You could also introduce sweet fruits like peaches, pears, apples, apricots or strawberries.
• Finish with turbinado sugar: Sprinkle turbinado sugar on top of the pie crust right after brushing on the egg wash and just before baking. Turbinado sugar adds a pleasant crunch and gorgeous shine to pies.

How to Store Homemade Cherry Pie

Store homemade cherry pie in the fridge for up to one week. Make sure the pie is covered tightly, or store pie slices in an airtight container. If you’re planning to finish the pie quickly, cherry pie can be stored, covered, on the countertop for up to two days.

Can you freeze homemade cherry pie?

Yes, you can freeze a baked homemade cherry pie. Once the pie has cooled completely to room temperature, wrap it tightly in two layers of storage wrap, followed by a layer of aluminum foil. This will better protect the pie from freezer burn, which can make the crust soggy and the filling runny. Store cherry pie in the freezer for up to eight months and thaw it overnight in the fridge before enjoying it.

Can you make homemade cherry pie ahead of time?

Yes, you can make homemade cherry pie ahead of time. Either fully assemble and bake the pie the day before serving, or make the pie dough and homemade cherry pie filling a few days before assembly, storing the two separately in the fridge.

Homemade Cherry Pie Tips

Allison Cebulla for Taste Recipes

Which cherries are best for homemade cherry pie?

The best types of cherries to use for homemade cherry pie are sour cherries. These tart stone fruits will provide the homemade cherry pie filling with a light sourness. Sweet cherries are fine if that’s all you have on hand, but consider omitting some of the sugar, or your cherry pie will be way too sweet.

How do you pit fresh cherries for homemade cherry pie?

The easiest and fastest way to pit cherries is with a cherry pitter. This little tool (which also works with olives!) grips the cherry and pierces a rod through the center, pushing the pit out. It leaves the cherry intact, too!

There are a few other effective ways to pit cherries without a pitter. Reusable straws and long piping tips are great tools to push right through the cherry’s center to get the pit out. Otherwise, grab a paring knife, cut the cherry in half around the pit (you won’t be able to pierce all the way through, of course), twist the cherry open and pull the pit out.

How do you serve homemade cherry pie?

Serve homemade pie warm (not hot!) from the oven with a scoop of the best vanilla ice cream or a cloud of homemade whipped cream. The pie is also nice at room temperature, and some people even like it chilled. For after-dinner drink pairings, pop open a bottle of vin santo or Brachetto d’Acqui.