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Cherry Pie

Sweet-tart cherry filling under a lattice or full top crust. Works with fresh, frozen or jarred sour cherries; the filling recipe says how.

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Cherry Pie

What it's made of

CrustDouble-Crust Pie Dough FillingCherry Pie Filling
Makes 8 servings Active 2 hr 5 minChill or rest 3 hr 0 minParts 2
Contains milk, egg, wheat (check labels)

Each part is a full recipe as written; the Dessert Builder scales them to fit this pie and merges the shopping list. Open it with the button above to adjust servings or swap any part.

Ingredients

Double-Crust Pie DoughCrust · makes 8 slices

  • 2.5 cupsall-purpose flour (320.0 g)
  • 2.0 tbspgranulated sugar (24.0 g)
  • 0.5 tspfine sea salt (3.0 g)
  • 1.0 cupcold unsalted butter, cut in 1/2-inch cubes (226.0 g)
  • 1.0 large egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for the top (50.0 g)
  • 1.0 tbspcoarse sugar, for the top (12.0 g)
  • 7.0 tbspice water, as needed (105.0 ml)
  • 1.0 tsppure vanilla extract (5.0 ml)

Cherry Pie FillingFilling · makes 8 servings

  • 5.0 cupspitted cherries, sweet, fresh or thawed frozen (775.0 g)
  • 0.5 cupgranulated sugar (100.0 g)
  • 3.0 tbspcornstarch (24.0 g)
  • 0.25 tspfine sea salt
  • 1.0 tbspfresh lemon juice (15.0 ml)
  • 1.0 tbspunsalted butter, cut into small pieces (14.0 g)
  • 1.0 large egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon milk, for brushing (50.0 g)
  • 1.0 pastry for a double-crust 9-inch pie, homemade or store-bought, chilled

Method

1. Double-Crust Pie Doughfull recipe

  1. Whisk the flour, sugar and salt in a wide bowl. Add the cold fat and cut it in with a pastry blender or your fingertips until the largest pieces are the size of peas, with some smaller flakes.
  2. Stir the vanilla into the ice water. Sprinkle most of it over the flour and toss with a fork until the dough holds together when squeezed; add the rest a teaspoon at a time only if it stays dry.
  3. Press the dough into a disk, wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour so the flour hydrates and the fat firms.
  4. Roll on a floured surface into a 12-inch circle, turning it a quarter turn after every pass. Fit it into a 9-inch pie plate without stretching, fold the overhang under and crimp the edge.
  5. Divide the dough in two, one piece slightly larger for the bottom. Shape both into disks before chilling.
  6. After filling, roll the second disk into an 11-inch circle for a full top (cut 4 vents) or into 1-inch strips for a lattice. Seal to the bottom crust, crimp, brush with the egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar before baking.

2. Cherry Pie Fillingfull recipe

  1. Place a rack in the lowest position of the oven, set a rimmed baking sheet on it, and heat the oven to 425°F.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk the sugar, cornstarch, and salt so the cornstarch doesn't clump.
  3. In a large bowl, toss the cherries with the lemon juice, then add the sugar mixture and toss until evenly coated. Let stand for 15 minutes, until juicy.
  4. Roll out half of the pastry and fit it into a 9-inch pie plate. Spoon in the filling and its juices, mounding it slightly in the center, and dot with the butter.
  5. Roll out the remaining pastry and lay it over the filling (or weave a lattice). Trim, seal, and crimp the edges. Cut 4 or 5 vents in a solid top crust. Brush the top with the egg wash.
  6. Bake on the hot baking sheet for 20 minutes. Reduce the oven to 375°F and bake until the crust is deep golden and the juices bubble thickly through the vents in the center of the pie, 35 to 50 minutes more. Cover the edges with foil if they brown too fast.
  7. Cool on a wire rack for at least 3 hours before slicing; the filling thickens as it cools.

3. Put it together

  1. Make the Double-Crust Pie Dough and chill it in the pie plate while you make the filling.
  2. Make the Cherry Pie Filling.
  3. Cool on a rack until set, at least 3 hours for fruit pies and overnight in the fridge for cream pies.