Fresh Cherry Pie
What is summer without a perfect slice of Fresh Cherry Pie?
Tart and sweet Pie made with fresh sweet cherries! It’s so simple that you’ll never want to buy store bought pie filling again!
The best type of Cherry for this Fresh Cherry Pie
There are many types of cherries out there, and all of them have their own different flavor, color and size:
- Bing Cherries. Red, heart shaped and sweet
- Black Cherries. These have a darker skin, they’re sweet and they turn almost black as they ripen. These are the cherries I used for this recipe
- Montmorency Cherries. Light red, sour and tart
- Morello Cherries. Also considered on the sour side
- Rainier Cherries. Pink and yellow color, with a sweet flavor to them
There are many types of cherries out there, and it does matter what you use to make this pie. This recipe calls for sweet cherries, you could use any type of sweet cherry; if you plan on using sour cherries, be sure to add 1/4 extra Cup of sugar or your pie will end up to sour.
Which Pie Crust to use?
One might say that fresher is always better, and I agree… almost always.
So, imagine I’m in a summer afternoon with my 3 and 5 year old girls that are bored to death; to burn some time and to make fun activities with them we decided to bake a Cherry Pie.
If you have made Pie Crust before, you probably know that even though it just needs a few ingredients, it’s a bit tricky because it needs to be kept cold at all times, also you need to avoid over-working the dough with your hands. Consequently, and thinking about the small sticky hands grabbing anything within their reach, I decided to use store bought refrigerated Pie Crust from Pillsbury.
If you’re looking for flavor, definitely try making your own Pie crust, but if you’re in a hurry, or just don’t feel like investing too much time in your pie, feel free to use store bought pie crust. Either way, you won’t be disappointed with the pie filling.
How to make fresh Cherry Pie
For this pie you’ll need super simple ingredients:
- Pie Crust
- Sweet Cherries
- Granulated Sugar
- Corn Starch
- Vanilla Extract
- Balsamic Vinegar
- Unsalted Butter
- Egg and milk for egg wash
To make this Cherry Pie you need first to pre-heat your oven. Secondly, make your cherry filling by mixing sugar and cherries in a medium sized sauce pan, then heat until juices are hot and bubbly, about 5 minutes
Then, add cornstarch, balsamic vinegar and vanilla extract and mix. Continue to cook on low heat until thickened, 3-5 minutes, -remember that your filling will continue to thicken as it gets cold. Remove from heat and let cool completely,
Lightly flour your work surface and use your top crust to create flowers and leaves with cookie cutters. Then use a pizza cutter to cut even strips for the lattice. Place your bottom pie crust in your pie plate.
Spoon your cooled filling on top and moisten the edges of the bottom crust with water. Create your lattice using your strips, flowers and leaves (watch video below). Brush your lattice with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar if desired.
Lastly, place pie in a foil covered baking sheet on the lowest position of the oven. Bake for 30 minutes, if it’s browning too fast cover it with aluminum foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool over a wire rack for 2-3 hours before serving
Storing your Cherry Pie
This Cherry pie will be at its best when eaten the first two days after it was baked, but it will keep for around 5 days if kept covered and refrigerated.
If you are interested in more Pies and tart recipes click here!
To visit my recipe Menu for more dessert recipes click here.
Fresh Cherry Pie
Ingredients
- 5 C sweet cherries pitted
- 1 C granulated sugar
- 4 Tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 egg + 1 tbsp milk beaten (for egg wash)
- Store bought Pie crust or your favorite Pie crust recipe
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 375 F. Combine cherries and sugar in a sauce pan, heat on medium heat until juices are hot and bubbly, for about 3-5 minutes
- Add cornstarch, vanilla extract and balsamic vinegar and mix. Continue to cook in low until thickened, about 3-5 minutes (remember that your filling will thicken further when completely cooled). Remove from heat and let cool completely
- Lightly flour your work surface and use your top crust to create flowers and leaves with cookie cutters. Then use a pizza cutter to cut even strips for the lattice. Set aside
- Place your bottom pie crust in your ungreased 9-in pie plate. Spoon your cooled filling on top and moisten the edges of the bottom crust with water. Create your lattice using your strips, flowers and leaves (watch video). Brush your lattice with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar if desired.
- Place pie in a foil covered baking sheet on the lowest position of the oven. Bake for 30 minutes, if it’s browning too fast cover it with aluminum foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until golden brown
- Let cool over a wire rack for 2-3 hours before serving
