Cherry crumb pie has a tart and sweet cherry pie filling baked inside buttery pie crust and topped with a delicious crumb topping. It’s the perfect cherry dessert for the holidays.
For this cherry pie recipe, you can use fresh or frozen cherries, homemade or store-bought pie crust. Crumb topping for cherry pie is easy to make for the most delicious cherry pie recipe.
We love baking pies during the holiday season. If you’ve never made pie crust from scratch. Don’t be intimidated, we’ll walk you through tips on making homemade pie crust and having huge success!
Even the most novice baker can have success with this cherry pie recipe. If you’re a cherry pie lover, you’ve got to try this cherry pie recipe!
Why this recipe works
- Easy to make – Use store-bought or homemade pie crust and homemade cherry pie filling (uses simple ingredients!) Cherry pie is one of the easiest pie recipes to make.
- Use fresh or frozen cherries – You can use fresh or frozen cherries for this cherry pie recipe. Frozen cherries are in the freezer section and already pitted. Frozen at peak of flavor.
- Make ahead of time – Bake your pie the night before to save time!
- Perfect homemade dessert – This pie recipe is the perfect holiday dessert or any occasion.
What you’ll need
- Cherries – Use fresh or frozen pitted cherries. Frozen pitted cherries are readily available at BJ’s Wholesale, Walmart and most grocery stores. They’re already pitted, frozen at peak of ripeness and available year round. (Saving time and money!)
- Sugar – Adjust as you like depending on how sweet or tart your cherries are. Sugar will naturally draw out the juices of the fruit and create a juicy pie filling.
- Lemon juice – Adds a bit of tartness to the filling and helps preserve and maintain freshness.
- Cornstarch – Thickens cherry pie filling. Make a slurry with cornstarch and cold water mixed together.
- Butter – Adds touch of flavor to this cherry pie filling.
- Pie dough – You can use either store-bought or homemade pie crust.
How to pit cherries for pie filling
If using fresh cherries for this cherry pie recipe you will need a cherry pitter to pit them. (Super simple to do!)
Work over a Pyrex liquid measuring cup, pitting cherries right over the cup. Place the pitted cherries into a large saucepan. Place your hand over the pits and gently pour any cherry juices into the pitted cherries.
As you cook the cherry pie filling, it will start to foam a bit. Don’t worry about this. Once you stir in the cornstarch slurry and simmer to thicken, any foam will dissipate. You want the pie filling to be thick enough, but not too thick, as it will continue to thicken as it bakes in the oven.
Be sure and occasionally stir cherry pie filling with a wooden spoon so it doesn’t stick and burn.
This cherry pie recipe takes minutes to prepare and is perfect for using cherries when they are in season. Frozen cherries are the perfect option when they are not in season.
After cooking your pie filling, if there aren’t enough full pieces of cherries, simply toss in a few more already pitted frozen cherries. This will help give you a few extra cherries in your pie filling.
How to make Cherry Crumb Pie
- Make cherry pie filling – Use fresh or frozen cherries to make pie filling. Let cool completely before placing in pie crust.
- Make crumb topping – Crumb topping can be refrigerated in a large zip-style bag or even frozen.
- Roll out pie crust – Roll out pie crust on a lightly floured surface, slightly larger than your pie dish. Gently place pie dough into pie pan and trim edges with kitchen shears.
- Chill the bottom crust – After assembling the bottom pie crust, gently wrap loosely with plastic wrap and place into the fridge or the freezer. (We prefer to plop it in the freezer for 30 minutes to 1 hour.)
- Fill with pie filling – Use a large spoon or ladle to scoop cooled pie filling into unbaked pie shell.
- Crimp pie crust – Roll under edges. Hold thumb and forefinger against outside of pie. Use your forefinger from the other hand to press pie dough in between the other fingertips. Repeat, following along the rim until the entire pie crust is crimped.
- Add crumb topping – Sprinkle crumb topping over pie filling.
- Place on sheet pan. Place entire cherry pie on half sheet pan lined with parchment paper. This will help catch any juices that overflow, keeping the oven clean.
- Bake – Bake at 400 degrees F for 1 hour, or until pie filling is bubbling up around the edges of the crust.
- Cool – Let the pie cool completely before slicing. This step is imperative! Otherwise, your pie filling will not set properly.
How to make flaky pie crust
- Make ahead of time – make pie dough ahead of time and refrigerate overnight.
- Mix by hand – use a pastry blender to cut lard and butter into the flour, rather than using a food processor. (while I love my food processor, it tends to overwork make pie crust.) The more you handle pie dough, the more tough it will become.
- Keep pie crust cold – an imperative detail! While working with pie crust and should it become too warm, plop the entire bag into the freezer for about 20 minutes.
Tips on working with pie crust
- Keep the pie dough chilled– If it gets to warm, plop it back into the fridge or even the freezer for a bit.
- Doesn’t have to be perfect – Working with pie dough and weaving a lattice crust takes practice. Don’t stress and remember it doesn’t have to be perfect. It will still taste amazing!
- Use very cold butter or fat – Keep the butter, shortening or fat well-chilled and cut into small pieces to begin with.
- Don’t overwork the dough – While some recommend using a food processor to make pie crust, we do not. We recommend using a pastry blender and making pie crust by hand. The more you work with the fat pieces and flour, the higher chance for gluten formation, making pie crust tough.
- Roll out and turn the dough – Roll out the dough away from yourself and turn the dough often. Keep even pressure with the rolling pin across the entire circle of pie crust so the edges and center remain the same thickness.
- Chill lined pie pans – Cover the prepared pie pan with plastic wrap and chill for 20 minutes to 1 hour before filling with pie filling. This will help the pie crust retain it’s shape when baked.
To keep the edges of your pie looking beautiful, make it ahead of time and plop the entire pie shell into the freezer for an hour or two.
Scoop cooled pie filling into your prepared pie dish. If not fully cooled, pie filling will melt pie crust. Cherry pie filling can be made ahead of time and refrigerated overnight in a glass bowl covered with plastic wrap.
You can adjust the amount of cinnamon in the crumb topping to your personal preference. Brush the edges of the pie crust with an egg wash prior to baking. This will help create a beautiful golden browned crust.
Sweet cherries (Bing and Rainier) are among the most popular cherry varieties readily found in the produce section at most grocery stores. Also found in the frozen section, already pitted, with the frozen fruit.
Thicken with a cornstarch and water slurry. Whisk together cornstarch and cold water. Pour this over cherries, lemon juice and sugar. Bring to a simmer to let thicken.
Always set your pie on a metal sheet pan lined with parchment paper. The metal sheet pan will help conduct heat to the bottom of the pie. The parchment paper will contain any spills that are bound to happen and make cleanup easy.
Pies containing perishable ingredients should be refrigerated once cooled. Because cherry pie is acidic and has a lot of sugar, it’s safe to leave it at room temperature, covered, for a day or two. Refrigerating it will extend the life of the pie.
More Pie recipes
- Apple Pie
- Apple Hand Pies
- Blackberry Hand Pies
- Cherry Hand Pies
- Cherry Crisp
- Peach Hand Pies
- Peach Crumb Pie
Did you make one of my recipes? Please take a moment to leave a star rating. Also, if you are on Pinterest, please feel free to leave a comment there! Follow A Farmgirl’s Kitchen on FACEBOOK, PINTEREST and YouTube and subscribe my mailing list for ALL the latest recipes!
Cherry Crumb Pie
Ingredients
Crumb Topping
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1-2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ cup 1 stick unsalted butter (softened)
Cherry Crumb Pie
- 4 pounds Bing cherries pitted (fresh or frozen)
- ¼ cup (½ stick) butter
- 1 to 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ cup cold water
- Store-bought or Homemade pie crust
Instructions
Crumb Topping
- In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, sugar, flour and cinnamon. Use your fingers to incorporate the butter. Adjust the cinnamon to your liking.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place into the refrigerator as you prepare your pie. Or place in a large zip-style bag and place into the refrigerator.
Cherry Pie Filling
- If using fresh cherries; Pit the cherries over a glass liquid measuring cup. Place pitted cherries into a deep frying pan. Place your hand over the pits and pour any excess juices into the pan.
- If using frozen cherries; they will already be pitted and halved. Just add to the skillet and follow directions below. Add the cherries into a large cast iron skillet or pot and cook over medium heat. Add the butter, sugar and lemon juice. Cook until soft, stirring with a wooden spoon occasionally.
- Dissolve the cornstarch into cold water, stir with a tablespoon.
- Stir the cornstarch mixture into the cherry mixture. Cook over medium to high heat to thicken. Let the mixture simmer and stir constantly with a wooden spoon as it thickens.
- Let pie filling cool completely before putting into the pie shell.
Cherry Crumb Pie
- Prepare the pie crust if you are making homemade pie crust. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
- On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the bottom crust slightly larger in diameter than your baking dish. Gently place the pie crust into the pan lightly, using your fingers. Use kitchen shears to trim the edges of the crust, to about ¾-inch past the pan rim.
- Use a large spoon or ladle to scoop the cherry pie filling into the pie crust. Discard the remaining lemon juice.
- Trim the edges of pie crust with kitchen shears and roll under the crust. Crimp with your fingers or press with a fork.
- Sprinkle the crumb topping over the cherry pie filling.
- Brush the pie crust edges with an egg wash.
- Place the pie on a half sheet pan lined with parchment paper. This will help catch any juices that run over the edges of the pie plate.
- Place in a preheated 400 degree F oven for 1 hour. The crust will be golden brown and the filling bubbling up around edges of the crust.
- Part way through baking, cover the pie with a piece of aluminum foil. Cut a hole in the center prior to placing over the pie. This will help the pie continue cooking, but let steam escape so your pie crust does not become soggy. This will prevent the edges of the pie crust from becoming too brown.
- Let cool for 2-3 hours before slicing. This will allow the pie filling to set.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Disclosure: As an Affiliate Marketer, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you click a product affiliate link on A Farmgirl’s Kitchen and make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no additional cost to you! I own every cooking product I recommend and love how they perform.
Leave a Reply