The Best Homemade Cherry Pie Recipe (Video)

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The best homemade cherry pie starts with sour cherries picked right off of the tree.  Add some sourdough pie crust, and homemade vanilla ice cream and you have found a match made in heaven.  Of course, if you don’t have access to sour cherries on the tree, you can always make this with frozen or boughten cherries as well.  Homemade cherry pie is something our family looks forward to every summer.  It’s the perfect blend of tart and sweet, and made with just seven simple ingredients, including the homemade ice cream!  If you haven’t ventured down the path of making your own fresh cherry pie, I’d encourage you to do so!  You will get such a feeling of satisfaction from making something so decadent out of something so healthy and simple.  So let’s make some sour cherry pie!

lady serving cherry pie and ice cream

Our Orchard Story

When my family started the journey towards having our very own homestead, the very first thing we did was drill a well and plant fruit trees.  Where we live in zone 4b, trees take a long time to grow, and you have to be sure to plant cold hardy varieties.  Our orchard consists of 24 fruit trees, elderberries, blackberries and grapes.  It provides us with most of the fruit we need for our family.  We like to make applesauce, fruit leather, apple pie filling, canned pears, peaches, grape juice and jelly, and of course, cherry pie!  We have three sour cherry trees that are about eight years old.  I would really like to get enough cherries off of these trees to can cherry pie filling, but as I mentioned, trees grow slowly here.  So I am still having to be content with just making cherry pies, which is fine because it’s one of our favorite summer desserts.

sour pie cherries on the tree

Sourdough Pie Crust

My favorite homemade pie dough for cherry pie is our sourdough pie crust recipe.  It has an incredible depth of flavor and a flaky, tender buttery crust.  The best part about sourdough pie crust is that it is much healthier for you and easier to digest because most of the gluten has been broken down by the sourdough starter.  If you’ve never tried a sourdough pie crust, I would encourage you to do so.  It is one of our families favorites.  

cutting lattice sourdough pie crust

Simple Cherry Pie Ingredients

As I mentioned, this homemade cherry pie is made with just seven simple ingredients, including homemade ice cream.

Sour Cherries

Sour cherries make the best pie, because the tartness combined with sugar gives the perfect balance of tart and sweet.  We all like sweet cherries for fresh eating, but they typically don’t make the best pies.  If you have the opportunity to plant sour cherry trees, definitely do it!  And before you know it you’ll be able to harvest your own tart cherries.  In the meantime, you can order some frozen pitted cherries online from Azure Standard.  They are only available seasonally, so be sure to stock up on them when they are available.

pitting sour cherries for pie

Flour

Regular all purpose flour works fine for this recipe.  I like to purchase mine in bulk from Azure Standard.  It is used in the sourdough starter, the flaky pie crust, and to thicken the cherry pie filling.

Sugar

You can use regular white sugar, or purchase granulated cane sugar which is less processed from Azure Standard.  I like to put a little bit of sugar in my pie crust, and of course sour pie cherries wouldn’t be good without quite a bit of sugar, so maybe it’s a good thing we only eat this pie once a year.  The ice cream also needs some sugar to make it yummy.

Salt

I like to use Redmond real salt whenever I have it on hand.  Salt helps give a little flavor boost to the pie crust, cherry pie filling and homemade ice cream.

Butter

My favorite butter is my own homemade butter from our Jersey milk cows, but use whatever butter you like.  Butter is what makes the flaky crust and is also used for brushing on top of your pie.

Cream/Milk

For the ice cream, you’re gonna need some cream and milk.  I always use the cream and milk from my Jersey cows, but you can always buy heavy whipping cream and it makes wonderful ice cream too.

milking the cow

Vanilla Extract

Homemade ice cream has to have a little vanilla to make it extra delicious.  I like to use my homemade vanilla I keep stocked in my homestead pantry.

Tips For Making The Best Cherry Pie

  • Make the sourdough pie crust ahead of time, and then this pie can be made pretty quickly.
  • For best results, use fresh cherries in this recipe if possible.
  • If using fresh cherries, they can be pitted and kept in the refrigerator for a couple of days before making the pie if necessary.
  • If using frozen cherries, consider increasing the flour to 3/4 to help thicken the extra juice from the cherries.
  • You can put any kind of a topping on your cherry pie, but my favorite is a traditional lattice pie crust shown in the video below.
  • If making the lattice top sourdough pie crust as shown in the video below, you will need to double the recipe for this pie.  You can use a crinkle cutter or pizza cutter to make the strips of dough for the lattice crust.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here

Tools You May Need

Cherry pitter – you can usually find old fashioned cherry pitters at garage sales, auctions and antique shops. You can also get a more modern version from Amazon.

old fashioned cherry pitter in action

Mixing bowls

Measuring cups and spoons

Crinkle cutter for making lattice crust on top of pie

Pastry brush for adding butter to top of pie

Pie dish

Rolling pin for sourdough pie crust

rolling out sourdough pie crust

Pie server

Ice cream maker for homemade ice cream

How To Make The Best Homemade Cherry Pie

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

Roll out homemade pie crust on a lightly floured work surface and place in bottom of pie dish.

easy sourdough pie crust

Using a sharp knife, cut away excess pie crust from the edge of the pie pan.

In a large bowl, combine sour cherries, flour, sugar, and butter.  If you have really juicy cherries, increase the flour to 3/4 of a cup.

mixing up sour cherry pie filling

Pour cherry mixture into bottom crust.  

sour cherry pie

Roll out the top crust and place on top of the filling.  You can do a lattice crust as shown in the video below or a crumb top crust is nice too.

making lattice sourdough pie crust

Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar.

brushing butter on cherry pies

Cover edges with 2-3 inch piece of aluminum foil to prevent the edges from browning too quickly.

Place on a parchment lined baking sheet in case the pie bubbles over.

Bake at 425 for 15 minutes.  Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 35 to 45 minutes or until juice is bubbly and crust is golden brown. 

best cherry pie

Remove hot pie from oven and cool for two hours before slicing.

Can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week in the refrigerator, although I highly doubt it will last that long.

Enjoy with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream.

If you try this recipe and love it, please come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @wagonwheelhomestead21.  I can’t wait to see what all you make!

Yield: 1 9" pie

The Best Homemade Cherry Pie

best homemade cherry pie

The best homemade cherry pie starts with sour cherries picked right off of the tree.  Add some sourdough pie crust, and homemade vanilla ice cream and you have found a match made in heaven.  Of course, if you don’t have access to sour cherries on the tree, you can always make this with frozen or boughten cherries as well.  Homemade cherry pie is something our family looks forward to every summer.  It’s the perfect blend of tart and sweet, and made with just seven simple ingredients, including the homemade ice cream!  If you haven’t ventured down the path of making your own fresh cherry pie, I’d encourage you to do so!  You will get such a feeling of satisfaction from making something so decadent out of something so healthy and simple.  So let’s make some sour cherry pie!

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 6 cups sour pie cherries, fresh or frozen
  • 1 1/3 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour (increase to 3/4 cup for frozen cherries)
  • 2 Tbl melted butter

Instructions

    Heat oven to 425 degrees.

Roll out homemade pie crust on a lightly floured work surface and place in bottom of pie dish.

Using a sharp knife, cut away excess pie crust from the edge of the pie pan.

In a large bowl, combine sour cherries, flour, sugar, and butter.  If you have really juicy cherries, increase the flour to 1/2 a cup.

Pour cherry mixture into bottom crust.  

Roll out the top crust and place on top of the filling.  You can do a lattice crust as shown in the video below or a crumb top crust is nice too.

Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar.

Cover edges with 2-3 inch piece of aluminum foil to prevent the edges from browning too quickly.

Place on a parchment lined baking sheet in case the pie bubbles over.

Bake at 425 for 15 minutes.  Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 35 to 45 minutes or until juice is bubbly and crust is golden brown. 

Remove hot pie from oven and cool for two hours before slicing.

Can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week in the refrigerator, although I highly doubt it will last that long.

Enjoy with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 321Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 10mgSodium: 36mgCarbohydrates: 71gFiber: 3gSugar: 57gProtein: 3g

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