In the Kitchen - Fresh Cherry Pie Recipe

Usually for a couple of weeks around this time every year, we see fresh sour cherries for sale at the local market. I always make a point to buy some in order to make a cherry pie, which is undoubtedly one of our favorites. Part of what makes this pie so special is that in all likelihood, we'll only be able to have it once or twice a year as the season for fresh sour cherries is relatively short. Maybe one day when we purchase the homestead of my dreams, I will plant enough sour cherry trees to fill a chest freezer with enough fruit to satisfy our pie cravings year around. Until then, we'll just have to savor this rare treat.


I've used the same pie crust recipe for years. It always gets rave reviews from our guests and never fails to bake up nicely. Once in a while, I will try out a new recipe but in the end, I always return to this one, which you can find here.

For the filling, I mix together 5 - 6 cups of fresh pitted sour cherries, 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon of sugar, 3 tablespoons of tapioca starch (or quick-cooking tapioca pearls), 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and sometimes 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract. This should be enough to fill a 9-inch deep dish pie pan.

After assembling the pie, I usually brush the crust with some beaten egg and sprinkle raw sugar on top. Then the pie goes into a 350 degree F oven for about 1 hour and 15 - 25 minutes.