Cherry Pie, mixed at home

Each bite of this House-made Cherry Pie gives you a thick and evenly sweetened cherry pie filling that's paired with a flaky, buttery pie crust that's made from the pantry. It's a flavorful, straightforward to mix familiar that is worth making any time of the year!

A Dedication to My Father-in-Law

From the original post of my House-made Cherry Pie on 11/19/2018 — that is this dedication..

The recipes I post here mostly come from memories of mostly my childhood or young adult years. Today's house-made cherry pie post is something that will now be a new tradition in our home, and it's dedicated to my father-in-law, who passed away yesterday from cancer. This cherry pie was one of the last things he requested, and it was an honor to make it for him.

He actually asked for it to be like his mother used to make, but because I don't have that recipe and time was of the essence, I scoured the cookbooks I had and online for the next best thing. Not to say that I rush through my pie baking, but for this one, even with it being a simple design, I took my time making sure it was genuinely perfect.

It was the least I could do for someone who had treated me like I was his own, especially after losing my own father to cancer 4 years ago.

My father-in-law was a brilliant, smart, and funny man. He was different and quirky, and I loved that about him because I've always felt like that's who I am. We'd always say hello and goodbye with a typical Euro kiss on the left cheek and a kiss on the right, and then a big bear hug. From the moment I met him, he instantly made me feel like I was part of the family and, naturally, would then give me a hard time about how I liked my steak cooked.

Do I have any well-done steak lovers out there? Anyone?

I'll miss watching the occasional Eagles game with him while eating shrimp dipped heavily in a cocktail sauce he swears was spicy and our yearly birthday cards that were more of a history lesson than anything else.

I was fortunate enough to get one last card on my birthday this year back in the beginning of November. It was basically a short and sweet “Happy Birthday, Jenn…” followed by several paragraphs and photos of his time spent teaching over in India.

I miss this guy so much already. This post and this pie are for you, my dear father-in-law. Thank you for all the love you gave me…and for all those filet mignons you said you'd have to start grilling hours before dinner time. You were the best father-in-law I could have ever asked for.

Love, Jenn

How it comes together

Let's talk about how to make this canned cherry pie recipe! The full, detailed recipe can be found below.

Make the pie filling. It uses six ingredients—canned cherries packed in water, cornstarch, granulated sugar, a pinch of salt, almond extract, and vanilla extract. Allow it to cool completely before adding it to the pie crust, or make it in advance!

Make the pie crusts. You will need 2. Have the pie crusts made ahead of time and chilled for a minimum of 1 hour. Also—for the best pie crusts—ensure all your fats and water are very cold!

Prep the pie crusts. Roll it out, place it into the pie plate, trim it, then add a decorative crimp to the edges. For the top crust, you can be as creative as you'd like to be.

For more helpful pie crust tips, you can check out my Easy House-made Apple Pie or Perfect Pumpkin Pie recipes.

Bake the cherry pie. This method has two baking times. The first is at 425ºF for 15 minutes, followed by 375ºF for 30-40 minutes.

Allow it to cool. Allow the cherry pie to cool to room temperature on a wire cooling rack (about 2-3 hours) before serving. You can also choose to refrigerate it after it's cooled.

Both methods allow the cherry pie to set; it just depends on how you and your guests like cherry pie—room temperature or chilled. When kept in the refrigerator, the house-made cherry pie will last up to 5 days in the refrigerator covered with aluminum foil.

House-made Cherry Pie Filling Tips

Use canned cherries packed in water. When they're packed in syrup, it makes for an overly sweetened pie. Given we're already adding some granulated sugar to this house-made cherry pie recipe, there's just no need for the syrup.

You can use Oregon Specialty Fruit's red tart cherries packed in water. You can usually find them in the canned fruit aisle. Be careful not to get the kind that is packed in heavy syrup! Another fun way to use these red tart cherries is to make my Chocolate Cherry Bourbon Slab Pie. It's especially flavorful!

Don't forget the water. When adding the cherries to the saucepan, don't forget to include 1 1/2 cans of the water that is in the canned cherries. Here's how I do it:

I pour the first can (cherries and water) into the saucepan.

For the second can, I first add half of the water from the can using the lid as a filter to keep the cherries out (use your best judgment here). I pour the remaining water and cherries into a colander.

Then, for the third can, I empty that entirely into the colander to drain the water. Give it a few shakes to get as much of the water out, then add the cherries into the saucepan.

Make your cherry pie filling in advance. It doesn't take long to make this pie filling, but allowing it to cool completely does. You can like this cherry pie filling better anyway after storing it in the refrigerator for a day or two. It helps prevent a soggy bottom crust too.

Bring to a boil. After you have mixed all the ingredients together in the saucepan, it's important to let it come to a boil before you reduce it to low heat. This will get the cornstarch working to thicken as the pie filling cools down.

Keep it stored in the fridge. House-made cherry pie filling can last up to 2 weeks if kept in a well-sealed food container in the fridge. Plastic or glass containers work evenly fine.

Freezing Cherry Pie

To freeze your house-made cherry pie, it should be fully baked, completely cooled, and set. Place it uncovered in the freezer until solid. Then wrap it several times in plastic wrap, followed by a layer or two of aluminum foil. I also like to write what it is on the foil with the date it was made.

Frozen house-made cherry pies will keep for up to 6 months in the freezer.

Just like my perfect pumpkin pie, house-made apple pie, and blueberry crumble pie recipes, it's best to defrost the cherry pie the day before you're ready to serve it. Leave one layer of aluminum foil, then place it in the refrigerator for 10-12 hours.

Creative Ways to Decorate Pie Crust

Below are a few ways that you can decorate your house-made cherry pie!

• Basic Air Vent Cuts. Roll out the pie crust, then cut a few simple slits into the crust for air vents.
• Lattice. Cut out strips, then overlap them in a creative pattern. I did this for my Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. It's not perfect, but it sure tastes good!
• Cookie Cutters. These are probably a house favorite way to get creative with the top crust. You can roll out the dough, then cut out a pattern, or you can cut out shapes and place them directly on top of the filling.

For some examples of using cookie cutters, check out my Easy House-made Apple Pie, where I used alphabet cookie cutters as well as the two below. The one on the left is one of the cherry pies I made recently using my small dala horse shape! The other was for this update recipe post.

Essential Pie Baking Tools

When making this easy cherry pie recipe, Try any of these baking tools.