The Best Tart Cherry Pie You'll Ever Eat
User Reviews
4.8
The Best Tart Cherry Pie You'll Ever Eat
Description
The Best Tart Cherry Pie You'll Ever Eat begins with a butter-based pie crust, either homemade or store-bought, providing a flaky, tender base. The filling combines frozen tart cherries with organic cane sugar, cornstarch, flour, and almond extract cooked together until the cherries thaw and the filling thickens. Butter and amaretto are added for richness and subtle almond flavor.
After preparing the filling, the pie is topped with a dutch crumble consisting of flour, brown sugar, rolled oats, and melted butter, which bakes into a crunchy topping contrasting the smooth cherry filling. The pie is baked at 350°F to meld flavors and set the filling.
This pie offers a tart fruit flavor with a sweet nutty topping, suitable for dessert after meals or special occasions. The almond extract and amaretto deepen the cherry flavor profile, and the crumble adds a pleasant bite.
To adjust sweetness for dark sweet cherries, reduce sugar and cornstarch amounts slightly. The pie can be made ahead, stored covered at room temperature for a couple days, then refrigerated, or frozen tightly wrapped for up to 3 months. Reheat by warming in the oven until heated through.
Ingredients
- For the crust:
- 1 Butter Pie Crust homemade recipe or store bought, or any favorite pie crust
- For the filling:
- 6 cups tart cherries frozen, about 24 oz
- 1 cup organic cane sugar or granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon amaretto
- For the topping:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- ¼ cup rolled oats
- 6 tablespoons butter melted
Instructions
- Make the pie dough and shape the crust in a pie pan ahead of time, then store covered in the fridge. You can follow my recipe for an all butter flaky pie crust, use your favorite recipe, or a store-bought crust.
- To make the tart cherry pie filling: add frozen tart cherries, sugar, cornstarch, flour and almond extract to a large pot and place over medium heat. After 5 minutes or so, the cherries will thaw, begin to break down and the sugar will melt. Stir frequently during this time. Add in butter and amaretto and continue to stir. After another 5-10 or so minutes, the mixture will begin to thicken and start to bubble along the edges. Once the filling begins to stick slightly to the back of your spoon, remove it from the heat and set aside to cool off.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- While your oven preheats, make the dutch crumble topping: in a medium bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar and oats. Add in the melted butter and stir together with a fork until it begins to form into crumbles and resembles clumpy wet sand. You may need to use your hands/fingers to form into nice crumbles. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 5 minutes or until ready to use.
- Remove pie pan with pie crust from the refrigerator and place pie pan onto a large baking sheet. I do this to avoid any spillage that may happen as the pie filling bubbles and bakes. Pour cooled tart cherry pie filling into the crust, then top filling with the dutch crumble topping.
- Bake for 1 hour-1 hour 15 minutes or until the filling is very bubbly and the crumble is slightly golden brown. Check pie after 30 minutes to make sure the crust isn’t burning. If it is getting too golden brown, simply cover pie edges with foil or pie shield.
- Allow pie to cool on a wire rack until completely cooled before cutting into it (this is annoying, but if you cut into it before then the pie filling won't be set). The longer the pie rests, the easier it is to serve! Can be made a few days ahead of time. Pie is best served at room temp or just slightly warm. Serves 9. Great with vanilla bean ice cream. Enjoy!
Notes
- If using dark sweet cherries instead of tart cherries, reduce sugar to 3/4 cup and cornstarch to 1 1/2 tablespoons to balance sweetness and thickening.
- A store-bought crust can be used instead of homemade for convenience without compromising flavor.
- The filling or entire pie can be prepared ahead and refrigerated before baking.
- After baking, the pie stays fresh covered at room temperature for two days, then refrigerated for up to three more days.
- The pie freezes well if tightly wrapped in foil and a freezer bag, lasting up to three months; reheat in the oven at 350°F until warmed.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
4.8
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