Very Best Cherry Pie
I've been on a pie kick lately...and I'm not mad about it. Summer is pie time thanks to the abundance of fruits and veg that ripen up during this season. And although I don't have a favorite type of pie (that's like asking me which houseplant I would choose to carry with me if my apartment caught on fire) I do have a fondness for apple pie and cherry pie in particular. A few weeks ago I shared my Very Best Apple Pie recipe, and now it's time for my Very Best Cherry Pie recipe. You ready?
I hope the answer is yes, because we are diving RIGHT in! I have to admit something to you...this cherry pie recipe is kind of a cheat. I've always been proud of the fact that my blog champions homemade recipes that start from scratch, and that is still my favorite type of baking. As you know, I will spend hours on a homemade marshmallow for a s'mores recipe because I'm all about the journey. But, when I went to my local Ralph's to gather all the ingredients for this cherry pie recipe, I was faced with the horrors of discovering that
there
were
no
cherries.
Cue this face -> 😱 What's a baking guru to do when she goes to the store but doesn't see any cherries? Come back tomorrow? Beg the employees to take me to their stock in the back so I can dig up some cherries myself? Sigh. It was a rough moment. But I really wanted to make a cherry pie and didn't feel like store hopping. So I did the next best thing, and bought a can of cherry pie filling instead. And you know what? The pie came out tasting delish!
A great pie needs just two great things: an amazing crust/topping, and a killer filling. I am confident in my pie crust and pie topping making skills so I wasn't worries about that, but I was a little nervous using cherry pie filling for this pie, strictly because I have never used it before and I wasn't sure how it would taste. But look at this pie y'all. It tastes AMAZING! If you're an over-achieving baking princess like me and typically shy away from shortcuts, take it from me when I say that it still tastes great.
The key to making canned cherry pie filling taste fresh is to add in fresh lemon zest. Lemon brightens the flavor of everything it touches, both in baking and in cooking. Add some fresh lemon zest and almond extract (for that homemade taste) to this pie filling and you are good to go.
Enough rambling, on to the best cherry pie recipe you'll ever try!
Recipe
Ingredients
Crust
6 tablespoons very cold butter
1.5 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup very cold Crisco
1/4 cup ice water
Filling
(2) 21 oz cans cherry pie filling
1 tsp almond extract
Zest of one lemon
Crumb Topping
1 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter cold
Directions
Dice the butter and Crisco into small cubes and keep them in the freezer while you prepare the flour mixture.
Place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse a few times to mix. Add the butter and shortening. Pulse 8 to 12 times, until the mixture is the size of peas.
With the machine running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse the machine until the dough begins to form a ball.
Dump out on a floured board and roll into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, make your filling by mixing all ingredients together in a large bowl.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
After 30 minutes, turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface. Roll onto a well-floured board into a circle, rolling from the center to the edge.
Fold the dough in half, place in your dish, and unfold to fit the pan.
Pour in the pie filling.
In another medium bowl, stir together flour and brown sugar. Blend in cold butter using a pastry blender or just your hands!
Sprinkle crumb topping evenly over cherry pie filling. Bake at 425 for 45 minutes. Place a sheet of foil over the pie during the last 15 minutes of baking to prevent over browning.
Let cool slightly before enjoying!