Cherry Pie
This easy homemade classic cherry pie is a favorite in our family! The filling is easy to make, and you can use either sweet or sour cherries. Here are all the tips on how to make it perfect.
This homemade cherry pie is my second favorite pie after apple pie, and it’s the best recipe out there. Trust me, I’ve tried quite a few. It has no fancy ingredients, and it tastes divine and homey. Once you’ve pitted the cherries, the hard work is behind you and all that’s left is mixing the ingredients together.
For this cherry pie filling recipe, you can use either sweet cherries for a sweet cherry pie or tart cherries for a sour cherry pie. As you’ll see in the recipe, the only difference between them is the amount of sugar and lemon juice.
Ingredients:
- 5 cups stemmed and pitted fresh dark sweet or sour cherries (that's about 2 pounds whole unpitted cherries)
- 3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar for sweet cherries, or 1 cup (200 g) for sour cherries
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice for sweet cherries , or 1½ teaspoons for sour cherries
- Grated zest from 1/2 lemon
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon Kirsch , optional
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into mini cubes
- Cream or milk , for brushing the top crust
- Coarse or granulated sugar , for sprinkling