Good news! You can all stop searching for the best cherry pie recipe because here it is. This sweet, juicy pie is decorated with hearts and simply oozes charm. The homemade cherry pie filling is utterly scrumptious and the homemade pie crust is crisp perfection!
Serve with vanilla ice cream and enjoy!! We hope you love this classic cherry pie as much as we do!
If you love cherry recipes, try our easy cherry crisp and cherry pie bars!
How To Make This Best Cherry Pie Recipe
Cherry Pie Filling
- Remove pits from 3 pounds cherries. The easiest way is to use a cherry pitter for this.
- Cut the cherries in half. You don’t have to cut all of them, but the majority.
- In a medium sauce pan, cook the cherries, sugar and the extract for five minutes while stirring.
- Mix the cornstarch and the lemon in a small bowl, then add to the cherry multure while still cooking over medium heat. Continue to stir.
- Cook for anther four minutes until thick.
- Let the mixture cool to room temp while you make the crust.
Buttery Pie Crust
- In a large bowl combine flour, sugar and salt.
- Cut 2 sticks butter into small chunks and add to the flour mixture. With your hands or a pastry cutter, blend until butter chunks are the size of peas.
- Add ice water and mix dough with hands until combined. The dough should hold a loose ball and be more on the dry side. It should look rough.
- Roll the dough out and fit it into the pie dish. You can refrigerate freeze it for 30 minutes in the pie dish, which I recommend doing.
Assembling the Pie and Hearts
- Remove a little less than half the pie crust and set aside.
- Roll the remaining dough out on parchment paper to about 12″ circle to fit in a 9″ pie dish (it doesn’t need to be perfect!) then flip it over into a pie dish.
- Press it down in the center and up to the sides. Create a crust around the edge of the pie, using your hands to mold it.
- If you need a little extra dough to create more crust or an area that needs more, just take it from the preserved dough.
- Once the dough is pressed nicely in the pan with a pretty crust, place it in the freezer and let it sit there while you make the hearts.
- Roll out the remaining dough (about 1/4″ thick) on parchment paper and using a 1″ heart cookie cutter, cut out about 75 little hearts… or as many as you can with the dough.
- Keep rolling the dough out and cutting again. Then once you have all the hearts you can start assembling the pie!
- Pour the cherry mixture into the cold pie crust.
- Start around the outer edge and add the hearts. Continue until you get to the center of the pie. Leave a little room in the center to see the cherry pie filling.
- Whisk an egg with a fork and give the crust and hearts and egg wash. Really get all of the top and cracks good so it turns golden brown. You can sprinkle a little sugar on top too!
- Bake in a 375-degree oven for 20 -25 minutes until the crust is golden brown. Let it cool about 30 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
How Do You Pit Cherries For A Pie?
Most of us don’t own a cherry pitter. They aren’t expensive if you want to purchase one, but if you only make a cherry pie once or twice a year it might not be worth taking up precious real estate in your kitchen!
So you can try this method (which we did!) for pitting cherries!
What Kind Of Cherries Do You Use For This Best Cherry Pie Recipe?
You can use sweet cherries like Bing and Rainier that are easy to find in the grocery store.
Bing Cherries are lovely, juicy and sweet. They are the most produced variety of cherries in the U.S.
Rainier cherries are a beautiful two-toned yellow/blush color, they are also intensely tasty, sweet and complex, occasionally with an almost bitter edge.
A Decorative Pie Crust
The hearts are such a charming way to decorate a cherry pie! You can buy the 1″ heart shaped cookie cutter here and then using the remaining dough, you cut out 75 little hearts to fill the top!
Start to layer the top with the heart shaped cut outs. I did them in opposite directions and just went around in a circle starting from the outside in until you reach the center.
Can I Make A Cherry Pie The Day Before?
You absolutely can! You can assemble the pie and then leave it covered in the refrigerator. Don’t do the egg wash until right before you bake the pie. The pie is best served warm.
Bake the pie in 375 degree oven until golden brown and the inside is bubbly. It’s best served warm, but you can store it in the refrigerator for up to two days.
Top Tips For The Best Cherry Pie Recipe
- Use a cherry pitter to remove the cherry pits.
- Freeze your dough in the pie dish for 30 mins, before adding the filling.
- When placing the hearts on top of the pie, start from the outside. This way you ensure your hearts are somewhat uniform.
- Let the pie cool for 30 mins before serving.
Check Out These Other Delicious Pie Recipes
The Most Delicious Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie Recipe
Pecan Pumpkin Pie Recipe With Buttery Flaky Crust
Coconut Macadamia Key lime Pie
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Classic Cherry Pie
Ingredients
Cherry Pie Filling
- 3 pounds pitted fresh cherries , you’ll need a cherry pitter for this.
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Buttery Pie Crust
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 pound cold unsalted butter, (2 sticks)
- 1/4 cup Crisco
- 1/3 cup ice water
- 1 tbsp sugar
Instructions
Cherry Pie Filling
- Remove pits from 3 pounds cherries. The easiest way is to use a cherry pitter for this.
- Cut the cherries in half. You don’t have to cut all of them, but the majority.
- In a medium sauce pan, cook the cherries, sugar and the extract for five minutes while stirring.
- Mix the cornstarch and the lemon in a small bowl, then add to the cherry multure while still cooking over medium heat. Continue to stir.
- Cook for anther four minutes until thick.
- Let the mixture cool to room temp while you make the crust.
Buttery Pie Crust
- In a large bowl combine flour and salt and sugar.
- Cut 2 sticks butter into small chunks and add to the flour mixture. With your hands or a pastry cutter, blend until butter chunks are the size of peas.
- Add ice water and mix dough with hands until combined. The dough should hold a loose ball and be more on the dry side. It should look rough.
- Roll the dough out and fit it into the pie dish. You can refrigerate freeze it for 30 minutes in the pie dish, which I recommend doing.
Assembling the Pie and Hearts
- Remove a little less than half the pie crust and set aside.
- Roll the remaining dough out on parchment paper to about 12″ circle to fit in a 9″ pie dish (it doesn’t need to be perfect!) then flip it over into a pie dish.
- Press it down in the center and up to the sides. Create a crust around the edge of the pie, using your hands to mold it.
- If you need a little extra dough to create more crust or an area that needs more, just take it from the preserved dough.
- Once the dough is pressed nicely in the pan with a pretty crust, place it in the freezer and let it sit there while you make the hearts.
- Roll out the remaining dough (about 1/4″ thick) on parchment paper and using a 1″ heart cookie cutter, cut out about 75 little hearts… or as many as you can with the dough.
- Keep rolling the dough out and cutting again. Then once you have all the hearts you can start assembling the pie!
- Pour the cherry mixture into the cold pie crust.
- Start around the outer edge and add the hearts. Continue until you get to the center of the pie. Leave a little room in the center to see the cherry pie filling.
- Whisk an egg with a fork and give the crust and hearts and egg wash. Really get all of the top and cracks good so it turns golden brown. You can sprinkle a little sugar on top too!
- Bake in a 375 degree oven for 20 -25 minutes until the crust is golden brown. Let it cool about 30 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
