Cherry season comes and goes quickly, but our love for cherry pie lingers all year long. The good news? This ruby-hued pie can be made with fresh cherries or frozen cherries, making it just as suitable for Thanksgiving as it is your July to-do list.
This cherry pie features a lightly sweetened filling that lets the cherries shine, and a gorgeous lattice crust that absolutely anyone can master. You can use this pie’s easy, foolproof formula to make just about any stone fruit pie you please, from peach to plum to nectarines (or a blend of all three). Plus, we’ll teach you how to make the filling in advance and store it until it’s time for pie.
Why You’ll Love It
- No soggy crust! The sublime beauty of pie is the contrast between its lush, gooey filling and the crisp, flaky crust. Our foolproof method keeps it crisp as it bakes.
- The filling is perfectly sliceable. Pre-cooking the cherries helps keep the pie crusts crisp and ensures the filling is sliceable instead of runny.
Key Ingredients in Cherry Pie
- Fresh sweet cherries: Cherries are divided into two categories: sweet and tart. Sweet cherries—Bing and Rainier are among the most popular—are the variety you’re most likely to find fresh in the grocery store.
- Sugar: Use granulated sugar for the filling and coarse sugar (such as demerara or turbinado) for the crust.
- Cornstarch: A couple tablespoons of cornstarch help thicken the filling.
- Pie crusts: Use your favorite brand of prepared pie crusts, thawed if frozen, or two homemade pie crusts.
Helpful Swaps
- Sour cherries: Sour cherries are harder to find fresh (most are canned for pie filling), so this pie was developed for fresh sweet cherries. If you do happen to get your hands on sour cherries, up the sugar called for by at least 1/4 cup.
- Frozen cherries: Frozen cherries can also be used for this pie. Just thaw them completely before starting the filling.
Helpful Tips
- Pre-cook the filling. The most lovable part of cherries—their lush, ruby-red juices—is also what causes sogginess in pie. While firmer, less juicy fruits, like apples, can simply be sliced, tossed with sugar and flour or cornstarch, and added directly to the pie shell, stone fruits like cherries, peaches, and plums need to be pre-cooked to draw out their juices and thicken them into a jammy filling.
- Cool completely. Your fresh cherry pie will be at its most sliceable after it’s cooled completely—about four hours on a cooling rack. If warm pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream is your goal, cool the pie for just about two hours, but don’t expect a perfect slice.
Make-ahead and Storage Tips
- Make ahead (filling): Cook the filling on the stovetop, cool it for an hour at room temperature, then transfer it to an airtight container for up to one week in the fridge. You can also freeze the filling for up to one month, but be sure to thaw it slowly in the fridge or at room temperature before baking. Reheating the filling from frozen can cause the cornstarch to break.
- Make ahead (pie): The pie can be made up to one day ahead. Cool, cover, and store at cool room temperature.
- Storage: Cover the pie and store at room temperature for up to three days.
