‘Tis the season for pie!!! I know when you click on a recipe you just want to get to the recipe and skip over the sappy story about their grandmother’s [insert signature recipe here] dish but this is going to be one of those posts.

My nana was the ultimate pie maker. She was basically Martha Stewart, and her pies reflected that. After she passed away, my mom, sister, and I decided we’d take matters into our own hands and make a homemade pie using her signature pie crust recipe.

And lemme tell ya…pie is hard. It’s not like making cookies where you just mix the dry and wet together. You have to make the crust, chill it, make the filling, chill that if needed, par-bake the crust if you’re doing a custard-like pie, let the pie set, the list goes on.

But after many attempts, I’m finally now getting used to making pie. This recipe isn’t exactly my nana’s (she used Crisco!) but it’s VERY similar. This also isn’t meant to deter you from making pie!! This is to encourage you to continue trying! And this is also me telling you that it’s okay to laugh at yourself, it’s just pie!

NOTE: I’ve tried both regular AP flour and Gluten-Free AP flour and both worked. I always make pies with regular AP flour - because that’s what my nana did and you really do need that gluten to bind it together.

Okay, let’s get baking!

Cherry Pie (yields 1 pie pan)

Ingredients:

pie crust:

2 cups AP flour
1 cup cold butter *it must be cold
2 tbsp. sugar (I’ve used both coconut sugar, regular sugar, and monk fruit snd they all work!)
1 tsp. salt
cup of ice-cold water set aside (how cold? ICE COLD!)

pie filling:

3 bags frozen cherries
⅓ cup arrowroot powder (or ¼ cup cornstarch)
¾ cup sugar (I used monk fruit! a mixture of sugar and monk fruit works well too!)
¼ tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. lemon juice

egg wash:

1 egg
splash of milk

Instructions:

for the crust:

in a large mixing bowl, whisk flour, sugar, and salt. cut cold butter into small cubes and add to bowl, using your hands to combine the ingredients together. (if you have a Kitchen Aid more power to ya here)
next, begin forming the dough into a ball using your hands, occasionally adding 1 tablespoon of cold water until the dough is formed. (it’s okay if you see some chunks of butter! that’s how it’ll get nice and flaky)
transfer dough to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap and let chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour. (or simply wrap dough in plastic wrap)

for the filling:

add cherries to a large pot on medium-high heat
when the cherries have defrosted and begun to simmer, lower the heat to medium and add the lemon juice, sugar, and salt. stir to combine
create a slurry by whisking the arrowroot powder with an equal amount of room temperature water. add to the cherries and stir to combine
continue cooking the cherries on medium heat until the filling has thickened, stirring occasionally. about 10 minutes
once the filling has thickened, transfer to a bowl and cool to room temperature

for the pie:

preheat oven to 375°f. using a rolling pin, roll out the pie dough onto a floured surface until dough is ¼ inch thick (I find that a large wooden cutting board or butcher block works best)
carefully place your pie dish on your dough and trace around with a knife, leaving about 1 inch or 2 of space so that you have enough dough for the sides
place the dough into your pie dish and carefully press the dough into the corners (do not stretch the dough)
combine the rest of the dough into a ball and roll out again onto your floured surface. using a knife (or a pizza cutter) cut the dough into 1-inch strips
add the cherry filling to the pie dish. create a lattice using the strips of dough. pinch the edges down. whisk together egg and a splash of milk and brush over the crust
transfer pie to the middle rack in your oven and bake for 1 hour. I recommend checking on the pie after 40 minutes to see how it looks (crust should be golden brown)
let pie completely set (overnight is best!). serve & enjoy!!!

notes:

if your dough starts to feel like pizza dough, it’s overworked. simply add more flour and water and combine then plasce back in the refrigerator to cool
if you really want to wow your guests you could sprinkle some sugar over the crust before baking!
this pie is best served with a good vanilla bean ice cream!

Pie is hard. If you make this recipe and you’re struggling feel free to DM me and I can walk you through it!!!

download recipe!

make sure to tag me on Instagram when you make this recipe!! 🤎