Homemade Sweet Cherry Pie

After my dad saw the homemade apple pie I made for my mother’s birthday, pie quickly became his top request for Thanksgiving dinner this year. But it wasn’t just any pie he wanted… he specifically asked for a classic cherry pie! Honestly, this was the easiest pie I have made so far (no pun intended). There’s no slicing or peeling of fruit involved; you simply thaw frozen cherries and then heat them gently in a large saucepan over medium heat until they’re ready.

You can certainly use fresh cherries if you prefer, but I found that using frozen cherries made the whole process much simpler and more convenient! This is especially true if you are in a pinch and trying to prepare a feast for Thanksgiving without spending too much extra time.

Hope you love it as much as we did!

Homemade Sweet Cherry Pie

Ingredients

For the Crust:

• For this recipe, you will need to prepare two pie crusts using No Fuss Pie Crust

For the Filling:

• 2.5lbs of frozen or fresh dark seedless cherries (8 cups)

• ½ cup sugar

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• ½ teaspoon almond extract

• ½ teaspoon vanilla

• lemon juice squeezed from ½ lemon

• 3 tablespoons cornstarch

• 1 egg

• ¼ cup milk

• 2 tablespoons chilled, unsalted butter

Instructions

1. Prepare two pie crusts according to directions. When ready, preheat the oven to 375°.

2. If you are using frozen cherries, set them out and allow them to thaw at room temperature for about one hour. If you are using fresh cherries, you can skip this step.

3. In a large saucepan over medium heat, stir the cherries, sugar, salt, almond extract, vanilla, 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, and lemon juice. Stir frequently and simmer for approximately 10 minutes. Remove from stove top and stir in the other tablespoon of cornstarch. Allow filling to completely cool and thicken.

4. Once cooled, pour the cherry filling into a prepared pie dish.

5. Roll out the second batch of pie dough and cut into 1” strips. Weave the strips over the fruit filling to create a lattice crust. (Link a tutorial)

6. Pinch or crimp the bottom crust with the top crust to seal.

7. Whisk the egg and milk together in a small bowl and evenly brush the top crust with the mixture. Sprinkle additional sugar over the top crust and dot with chilled butter.

8. Bake at 375° for approximately 30 minutes until bubbly and golden brown. Cover the pie with aluminum foil if the crust begins to get too brown.

9. Cool on a wire rack before cutting. Serve with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream or whipped cream. Enjoy!