Fresh Cherry Pie Recipe

This is a truly homemade cherry pie recipe, bursting with fresh cherries and topped with a beautiful, from-scratch lattice pie crust, just like Granny used to make!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword cherry, pie

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 1

Refrigerator and Cooling 5

Total Time 7

Servings

Calories 500kcal

Author Sara Garska

Cost $15

Equipment

Pie Pan
Mixing bowls
Food processor
Rolling Pin
Baking sheet
Aluminum Foil
Paring knife

Ingredients

Pie Crust

3 cups all-purpose flour plus more for rolling out the crust
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks, cut into cubes)
1/4 cup vegetable shortening chilled
1 egg yolk
6 to 8 Tablespoons ice water

Cherry Filling

8 cups fresh cherries about 2 ¼ pounds
¾ cup sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoon almond extract
1 large egg lightly beaten
Sugar for sprinkling

Instructions

Pie Crust

Pulse the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor.
Cut butter into slices and add 1/2 cup to the food processor, along with the shortening. Pulse until the texture is like coarse meal.
Add the second stick of cut up butter and pulse until the dough is in pea sized pieces.
Add the egg yolk and 6 Tablespoons of ice water, pulsing until the dough begins to clump together. Add up to 2 TB more water (if necessary) until the dough is the right consistency.
Turn dough out onto a clean surface, divide in half and press into two discs.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least two hours.

Cherry Filling

Remove pits from each cherry.
Combine cherries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest, lemon juices, and almond extract in a large bowl.
Toss until all ingredients are combined and cherries are coated.

Making the Pie

Sprinkle flour on the surface where you will roll your dough.
Roll out one disc of dough into a 12-inch round.
Gently lift from surface and place in pie dish, leaving a one-inch overhang of dough.
Spoon in the cherry pie filling.
Roll out the second disc of dough and cut into 3/4 inch wide strips.
Lay half the strips over the pie, about 3/4 inches apart.
Fold back every other strip and lay another strip perpendicular to the existing strips.
Continue weaving strips until the top of the pie is covered.
Trim the ends of the strips as needed, leaving a one-inch overhang.
Fold the overhanging dough under itself, along the top edge of the pie pan, pressing to seal.
Crimp the edges with your fingers.
Brush the lattice and crust edges with beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar.
Refrigerate pie about 30 minutes before baking,

Baking Directions

Put a baking sheet covered with foil into the oven and preheat to 400°F.
Place the pie in the oven on top of the hot baking sheet and reduce oven temperature to 375°F.
Bake until the crust is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling (about 55-60 minutes).
Check at the half-way mark and if the crust is getting too brown, tent it with foil.
When done, transfer pie to a cooling rack and allow to cool for at least two hours before cutting and serving.

Notes

Nutrition information is an estimate only.

Fresh cherries will be a little firmer and a little tarter than canned pie filling. You can use more or less sugar depending on how sweet your cherries are.

I did not have a cherry pitter on hand but I had read you could easily push the pit out with a chop stick. I did not find that easy at all.

Instead I used a paring knife and made a slit down the side and then pulled the pits out. It took about 20 minute to pit 8 cups of cherries.

Fresh cherries can be juicy and that juice is bright red. Wear clothes that you don’t care of they get a splash or two of juice.

Since the juice will sometimes splash as you remove the pits, be sure and make sure your surface and chair are protected.

All in all, making a homemade cherry pie was fun and I loved the final results.

Nutrition