The absolutely BEST Cherry Pie I have ever made. We have our own cherry tree. I pit them using an opened paper clip which is very easy using larger end of clip. Seed pulls out easily. Do not lose as much juice. Then I freeze a quart (4 cups) to a bag with 1/2 cup sugar and a sprinkle of fruit fresh. Then thaw and use as wanted. I used the 1 cup sugar in the recipe, so made it sweeter and used only 1/8 tsp each almond and vanilla flavorings. I made this pie using the Best Ever Pie Crust on this site using only 6 Tbs of ice water. I always brush the bottom crust with slightly beaten egg white before adding filling and start out baking a two crust pie at 450 degrees for 10 minutes then turn down to 350 to 375 for another 30 minutes or until the juices bubble up through the vents. Just superb! Sets up perfectly. Never have to look for any different recipe for cherry pie again. Rave reviews from family.
Just moved to a home with cherry trees in the backyard, so I had buckets of fresh cherries and no idea how to use them. I tried this recipe with and without the tapioca, and got rave reviews with both. Use the tapioca if you like your pie more firm; if not, then it's a little more wet.
I didn't have a cherry pitter, so my husband came up with a great, cheap solution after seeing me pitting the cherries with a knife (very tedious, and it halves the cherries which doesn't like as nice as whole cherries in the pie): plastic straws, like the kind you get at any fast food place. Hold the cherry in one hand and gently push the straw throught the top of the cherry until you feel the pit. Gently push the pit through the bottom of the cherry. Do this over a bowl to catch the pits and the juice; put the pitted cherry in another bowl.
Yummy! I've made this twice now. The second time I used 1 1/4 cup of sugar instead of only 1 cup and I think it was better. My secret to a fabulous crust is to use cake flour for 1/2 of the flour required. Cake flour has less Gluten so the crust is very tender. I also use half butter/Half Crisco for the fat measurement. My crusts are always wonderful!
I made this for Thanksgiving and there was no availablity for fresh cherries however I found some very good frozen cherries that I used instead. It still turned out great. I found that I had to use an extra cup of the frozen cherries and I did drain out the juice from thawing. It wasn't too runny and it tasted divine!
This recipe is so easy & yummy! It is worth taking the time to pit fresh cherries. Alternative natural taste insead of using tapioca: Mash cherries & add 1/4 cup water so that the cherry liquid equals 3/4 cup, Add smashed cherry liquid to a small pan with 2 1/2 Tbls Cornstarch, 1 cup of white sugar, 1/8 tsp salt. Cook, stirring constantly until it thickens/gels for 2-3 minutes. Add the extracts, before you pour into pie shell.
This is a fairly standard cherry pie recipe. The pastry is very good. However, the addition of vanilla to the cherries gives the pie a commercial taste that negates the fresh cherries. I also prefer a runny pie to the gloppy one produced by the instant tapioca. Keep it simple!
This is a good fresh cherry pie recipe. I find if I refrigerate the bottom crust pie plate and all that I don't get a soggy crust. Also always use a deep dish pie plate for fruit pies. Would recommend this recipe for novice bakers and those who have been at it for a while. Bake on ladies!!
My husband and I have 4 cherry trees and this year I decided to make a pie from them. This recipe is amazing my husband a pie lover said this was the best cherry pie he had ever had. I do recommend that you increase the almond extract to 1/2 tsp and the vanilla extract to 1 tsp. If you are going to take the trouble to pit the cherries then take the time to make the crust as well. I used the Butter Flakey Pie Crust recipe by Dana And if you have the means try to use very fine butter like Plugra (European butter it comes in a 1 lb brick in a red wrapper) you can find it at Trader Joes believe me IT DOES make a difference.
I've got 3 pie cherry trees in my yard and I make a LOT of cherry pies each year this recipe is it! The best.
