This classic homemade cherry pie is everything you could dream of in a dessert. With a thick and glossy cherry filling encased in a beautifully golden lattice pastry crust, it is perfect for parties and holidays. When served with the mandatory scoop of vanilla ice cream on top, the result is a perfect marriage of flavors...pleasantly tart cherries with a hint of almond, rich butter pastry, and sweet vanilla-scented ice cream. In a word, this pie is simply wonderful.
If you love classic desserts like this homemade cherry pie, you may also enjoy my old fashioned apple pie.
Jump to:
Ingredients for Homemade Cherry Pie
- butter pie crust dough
- whole pitted sour cherries
- baker's sugar
- cornstarch
- kosher salt
- lemon juice
- pure vanilla extract
- almond extract
- unsalted butter
- milk
- vanilla ice cream (to serve)
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions for Homemade Cherry Pie
Heat the oven to 425℉. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt.
Then add the cherries, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Stir it all together to combine.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the first disk of butter pie crust dough to a roughly 12 inch circle and transfer it to the pie dish.
Transfer the filling to the dough-lined pie dish. Then dot the filling evenly with the small pieces of butter.
Weaving the Lattice Crust
Roll out the second disk of butter pie crust dough into a roughly 10 inch round and cut it into strips approximately ¾ inch wide.
Next arrange the dough strips across the top of the filling to form a lattice crust. Begin by laying half of the strips parallel across the pie, about an inch apart from each other.
Then gently fold every other strip half way back onto itself before placing the longest remaining strip across the center of the pie in a perpendicular direction to the existing strips.
Return the folded strips back to their original position, and then fold the rest of the strips back onto themselves. Lay the next strip parallel to the center strip (again about an inch apart), and then again return the folded strips to their original position.
Continue weaving the dough strips in this manner until the lattice is complete.
Then press the ends of the strips into the outer rim of dough and fold the edges under to seal.
Baking the Pie
Next brush the lattice crust with milk. Then sprinkle about a spoonful of sugar over the top of the dough.
Place the pie dish on a rimmed baking sheet that has been lined with aluminum foil (just in case any filling drips over as it bubbles).
Bake at 425℉ for 15 minutes. Then reduce the oven temperature to 375℉ and bake for about 1 hour more, or until the filling is bubbling thickly and the crust is golden brown. (Take a peek in the oven when it is time to reduce the cooking temperature, and If the crust is browning too quickly, cover it loosely with a sheet of aluminum foil.)
Transfer the pie to a wire rack and cool completely. Slice into wedges and serve with generous scoops of good vanilla ice cream.
Hint: When it comes to preparing the lattice crust, a pizza cutter can be really useful for purposes of evenly slicing the dough into strips. However, a sharp knife works just fine, too.
Equipment
I always use my favorite deep ceramic pie plate by Emile Henry for making homemade cherry pie, but any deep pie plate will do.
Storage
Homemade cherry pie can be stored at room temperature, loosely covered with plastic wrap, for 3 to 4 days.
Top tip
This recipe calls for tart (or sour) cherries, not the sweet variety. And you'll want to pay close attention to this when shopping for your pie cherries, since the difference is important here. While tart cherries can be pretty hard to come by in the fresh produce aisle (unless you're maybe from Michigan), they are widely available frozen, jarred, and canned.
Related
Looking for more classic dessert recipes? Try these:
📖 Recipe
Homemade Cherry Pie
Equipment
- Rolling Pin
- pastry brush
- metal baking sheet
- deep pie plate
Ingredients
- 1 batch butter pie crust dough (two disks)
- 2 pounds whole pitted sour cherries (about 5 cups)
- 1 cup baker's sugar (plus a spoonful for sprinkling over the lattice crust)
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
- 1 tablespoon milk
- vanilla ice cream to serve
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 425℉.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Then add the cherries, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Stir to combine.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the first disk of butter pie crust dough to a roughly 12 inch circle and transfer it to the pie dish. Then roll out the second disk of dough into a roughly 10 inch round and cut it into strips approximately ¾ inch wide.
- Transfer the filling to the dough-lined pie dish. Then dot the filling evenly with the small pieces of butter.
- Arrange the dough strips across the top of the filling to form a lattice crust. Begin by laying half of the strips parallel across the pie, about an inch apart from each other. Then gently fold every other strip half way back onto itself before placing the longest remaining strip across the center of the pie in a perpendicular direction to the existing strips. Return the folded strips back to their original position, and then fold the rest of the strips back onto themselves. Lay the next strip parallel to the center strip (again about an inch apart), and then again return the folded strips to their original position. Continue weaving the dough strips in this manner until the lattice is complete. Then press the ends of the strips into the outer rim of dough and fold the edges under to seal.
- Brush the lattice with milk. Then sprinkle about a spoonful of sugar over the top of the dough.
- Place the pie dish on a rimmed baking sheet covered with aluminum foil (just in case any filling drips over as it bubbles). Bake at 425℉ for 15 minutes. Then reduce the oven temperature to 375℉ and bake for about 1 hour more, or until the filling is bubbling thickly and the crust is golden brown. (Take a peek in the oven when it is time to reduce the cooking temperature, and If the crust is browning too quickly, cover it loosely with a sheet of aluminum foil.)
- Transfer the pie to a wire rack and cool completely. Slice into wedges and serve with generous scoops of good vanilla ice cream.
Leave a Reply