Homemade Cherry Pie

5 from 6 votes

Enjoy the best homemade Cherry Pie made with fresh tart cherries, flaky pie crust, and the most delicious flavorful cherry pie filling. This step-by-step recipe has tons of ingredient and process photos to guide you through the entire process so that you'll achieve a perfect summer pie!

Prep Time45

Cook Time55

Total Time1 40

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Author: Krissy Allori

Equipment

Ingredients

2 pie crusts homemade is best
5 cups sour cherries pitted and packed down for measurement
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup tapioca flour or substitute with cornstarch
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon can substitute with pumpkin pie spice
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon raw sugar or other large sugar crystals, to top crust

Instructions

Prepare cherries by washing in a large bowl of water with a bit of distilled vinegar, rinsing well, and then removing the stems and pits. When measuring quantity, gently pack pitted cherries into large measuring cup to get about 5 cups. *See note below about liquid.
Combine the pitted cherries with the sugar, tapioca flour, lemon juice, and salt. Stir well until everything is evenly combined and allow to sit for at least 20 minutes before adding to the pie shell.
While the cherries sit, preheat the oven to 425°F. Roll out both pie crusts into circles large enough to fit the pie dish and extend up the sides. Fit one of the crusts in your pie dish.
Prior to transferring pie filling to pie shell, stir the almond extract and cinnamon into the cherry mixture. Spoon the filling into the pasty lined pie dish. Dot the filling with the butter.
Place the remaining crust on top of the filling. You can place the entire crust over the pie and cut a design to allow steam to escape, your you can cut the crust into strips and arrange as a woven lattice crust (my preference). Seal and tuck the edges.
Using a pastry brush, cover the top of the crust with the egg white and discard any remaining egg. Sprinkle sugar on top.
Place the pie on a parchment-lined baking sheet. This will prevent any melted butter or cherry filling from spilling over and creating smoke in your oven. Bake in a preheated oven for 50 to 55 minutes total, loosely tenting with foil after about 35 minutes to prevent the crust from getting too brown.
Remove the pie from the oven, and cool it on a rack before slicing, so the filling can set. For best results, allow pie to fully cool before cutting.

Notes

When pitting fresh cherries, you will inevitably release a lot of liquid. The tapioca flour will help the liquid thicken, however if you prefer a thicker pie filling, you may want to drain off the liquid before adding the tapioca flour. Alternatively, you could drain off all of the juice and cook it down in a saucepan over low heat with about half of the sugar to create a thick syrup. Then, once that syrup cools, mix it back in with the cherries and remaining sugar when you add the tapioca flour.

Nutrition