It wouldn’t be cherry season without a deep-dish cherry pie! This is simply the best homemade cherry crumb pie with a flaky buttery crust, juicy cherry filling and brown sugar crumble topping. And if cherries aren’t in season, you can make your pie with frozen cherries!
You might also love these homemade cherry pop tarts, Linzer cookies with bourbon cherry jam, and chocolate cherry cake.
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Why You’ll Love This Pie
All the Best Textures. You’ll love the combination of the soft, sweet juicy cherries with the flaky, all-butter pie crust. And while crumb topping won’t win any beauty contests, it’s my favorite topping on a fruit pie!
Fresh and Seasonal. I love to bake with seasonal fruit, so I bake a cherry crumb pie every summer. Those bags of beautiful red cherries are just irresistible!
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
Crust
For my pie dough, I always make an all-butter dough without shortening. I added a little almond flour to the dough for my cherry crumb pie, and the subtle almond flavor nicely complements the cherries. A little apple cider vinegar tenderizes the dough for a tender, flaky crust. Sugar and salt add flavor, and milk binds everything together.
Filling
Start with cherries! Either fresh or frozen will do. Granulated sugar sweetens the filling and adds moisture. Corn starch is my preferred pie thickener, and it always thickens the filling beautifully. A pinch of salt balances the sweetness. Lemon juice adds acidity to balance the sweetness, and a touch of vanilla and butter adds flavor and richness.
Topping
The topping is a simple mix of all-purpose flour, dark brown sugar, salt and cloves, with melted butter to bind everything together.
Instructions
TIP: Be sure to read my post all about making the best homemade pie dough for more tips and step-by-step photos!
Make the pie dough.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, almond flour, sugar and salt. Scatter the butter over the flour and use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into smaller chunks, about 1/4 inch in size. Now use your fingers and smash each chunk of butter flat.
- Drizzle the apple cider vinegar and milk over the flour mixture and toss to combine. Dump the mixture out onto a clean work surface, and use your hands to gather the crumbs together. Keep gathering and pressing the crumbs together until it comes together into a ball – this should only take a minute or two. Use your bench scraper to scrape all the bits of dough off the work surface, if any of it sticks.
Roll out and chill the dough.
- Lightly flour your work surface, the ball of dough, and your rolling pin. Roll the dough out, using using your bench scraper to loosen the dough from your work surface, and sprinkling more flour as needed to keep it from sticking, into a rough circle about 1/4 inch thick. There may be a few cracks in the dough, and you should see visible chunks of butter throughout.
- Fold the dough into thirds, like a letter, and then in thirds again, so you have a neat little package of dough. Wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about 20 minutes, to let the dough rest and chill.
- After chilling the dough for 20 minutes, it’s ready to be rolled out for your pie. Flour your work surface again, and roll the dough out, using more flour as needed to keep it from sticking, until large enough to fit into a deep-dish pie pan with a little overhang. Trim or fold the edges under.
- Now chill the crust in the pan by freezing it for 20 minutes. You can also make the crust a day in advance, and refrigerate it, covered in plastic wrap, until needed.
Prebake the crust.
- While the crust chills, preheat the oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper.
- Place the chilled pie pan on the baking sheet. Lightly spray a piece of foil with non-stick baking spray, and fit the foil into the chilled crust, greased side against the crust. Fill the foil with the pie weights or dried beans. This keeps the crust from puffing up as it bakes without any filling.
- Bake the crust on the center oven rack for 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, and carefully remove the foil and weights. Return the pan to the oven and bake uncovered for another 12-15 minutes, until the bottom of the crust is pale golden brown.
- Set aside to cool slightly.
TIP: Make pie making day easier by prepping the dough and the filling in advance! You can make the cherry filling up to 3 days in advance. If making the dough in advance, wrap it well and refrigerate for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3-6 months. Let warm up at room temperature until pliable enough to roll out.
Cook the cherry filling.
- In a large stock pot, toss the cherries with the sugar, corn starch and salt. Stir in the water and lemon juice.
- Over medium heat, bring the cherries to a simmer, stirring frequently. Once the liquid starts to boil and thicken, stir constantly and cook for 1 1/2 minutes.
- Set aside to cool to room temperature, or make up to 3 days in advance and refrigerate until needed. Let refrigerated pie filling warm up to room temperature for an hour before filling and baking your pie.
Make the crumb topping.
- In a bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, salt and cloves. Drizzle with the melted butter and stir until moistened and crumbly.
- You can use the topping immediately, or keep covered in the refrigerator, up to 3 days in advance.
Assemble and bake your pie.
- Preheat the oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper – this catches any juices that might drip. Position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven.
- By now, you should have pre-baked your crust, and your filling and topping is ready to go.
- Spread the room-temperature cherry filling into the pre-baked pie crust. Sprinkle with the crumb topping. Set the pan on the baking sheet.
- Bake your pie for about 50-60 minutes, until the filling is thick with slow, thick bubbles rising to the surface. If needed, cover the edge of the crust with a pie crust shield to keep it from over-browning.
- Set the pie on a cooling rack and cool for at least 4 hours before cutting and serving.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of cherries should I use for a pie?
You can use either fresh or frozen, whichever is in season and most convenient. The cherries at the grocery store are usually sweet cherries, and of course, you’ll need to pit them. Frozen cherries are already pitted, and you can get bags with a mix of sweet and tart cherries, which are great for pies.
Why do you pre-cook the filling and the crust?
I pre-cook the cherry pie filling to ensure that it thickens properly. Part of the thickening occurs while cooking the filling on the stove, and then it will finish thickening in the oven. No runny pies in my kitchen!
And pre-cooking the crust (also called blind baking) ensures that the crust is baked through all the way. Too many times I’ve tasted pie crusts that are pale, flabby and raw on the bottom, which is terribly unappealing. Following my method you’ll get a delicious pie that’s perfectly cooked through from top to bottom.
Do you have a tutorial for a lattice crust?
You can see how I do a lattice crust on this peach lattice pie.
How do I know when my pie is done?
You should watch for slow, thick bubbles in the filling that are just starting to spill over the edge of the pan. A browned top does not mean the pie is done. Keep baking it until you see those bubbles, and lay a piece of foil over the top if the crumb topping is getting too brown.
How long does fruit pie stay fresh?
Fruit pie is really best eaten the first day it’s baked. If you can’t finish it the first day, though, you can keep your pie at room temperature for up to 24 hours. After that, cover it loosely and keep it refrigerated for up to 3 days.
What ice cream is best with cherry pie?
You can’t go wrong with classic vanilla bean ice cream! I had some of this salted honey ice cream in the freezer, and it was fantastic with this cherry crumb pie. Cinnamon ice cream would also be delicious!
You Might Also Like
Bourbon Cherry Jam 
Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes Cherry Cheesecake Swirl Ice Cream Rosette Cake
Favorite Products
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Cherry Crumb Pie
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Deep Dish Pie Pan
- Large Saucepan
- Rolling Pin, Bench Scraper, Pastry Cutter
- Pie Weights or Dried Beans
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus extra for rolling
- ¼ cup almond flour, optional
- 2 tsp granulated sugar
- ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ½ cup cold, unsalted butter, diced
- ¼ cup whole milk
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
Filling
- 2 lbs pitted cherries
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup corn starch
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 2 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
Topping
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- ⅓ cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
- ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
Crust
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, almond flour, sugar and salt. Scatter the butter over the flour and use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into smaller chunks, about 1/4 inch in size. Now use your fingers and smash each chunk of butter flat.
- Drizzle the apple cider vinegar and milk over the flour mixture and toss to combine. Dump the mixture out onto a clean work surface, and use your hands to gather the crumbs together. Keep gathering and pressing the crumbs together until it comes together into a ball – this should only take a minute or two. Use your bench scraper to scrape all the bits of dough off the work surface, if any of it sticks.
- Lightly flour your work surface, the ball of dough, and your rolling pin. Roll the dough out, using using your bench scraper to loosen the dough from your work surface, and sprinkling more flour as needed to keep it from sticking, into a rough circle about 1/4 inch thick. There may be a few cracks in the dough, and you should see visible chunks of butter throughout.
- Fold the dough into thirds, like a letter, and then in thirds again, so you have a neat little package of dough. Wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about 20 minutes, to let the dough rest and chill.
- After chilling the dough for 20 minutes, it’s ready to be rolled out for your pie. Flour your work surface again, and roll the dough out, using more flour as needed to keep it from sticking, until large enough to fit into a deep-dish pie pan with a little overhang. Trim or fold the edges under.
- Now chill the crust in the pan by freezing it for 20 minutes. You can also make the crust a day in advance, and refrigerate it, covered in plastic wrap, until needed.
- While the crust chills, preheat the oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper.
- Place the chilled pie pan on the baking sheet. Lightly spray a piece of foil with non-stick baking spray, and fit the foil into the chilled crust, greased side against the crust. Fill the foil with the pie weights or dried beans.
- Bake the crust on the center oven rack for 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, and carefully remove the foil and weights. Return the pan to the oven and bake uncovered for another 12-15 minutes, until the bottom of the crust is pale golden brown.
- Set aside to cool slightly.
Filling
- In a large stock pot, toss the cherries with the sugar, corn starch and salt. Stir in the water and lemon juice.
- Over medium heat, bring the cherries to a simmer, stirring frequently. Once the liquid starts to boil and thicken, stir constantly and cook for 1 1/2 minutes.
- Set aside to cool to room temperature, or make up to 3 days in advance and refrigerate until needed. Let refrigerated pie filling warm up to room temperature for an hour before filling and baking your pie.
Topping
- In a bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, salt and cloves. Drizzle with the melted butter and stir until moistened and crumbly.
- You can use the topping immediately, or keep covered in the refrigerator, up to 3 days in advance.
Assembly and Bake
- Preheat the oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper – this catches any juices that might drip. Position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven.
- By now, you should have pre-baked your crust, and your filling and topping is ready to go.
- Spread the room-temperature cherry filling into the pre-baked pie crust. Sprinkle with the crumb topping. Set the pan on the baking sheet.
- Bake your pie for about 50-60 minutes, until the filling is thick with slow, thick bubbles rising to the surface. If needed, cover the edge of the crust with a pie crust shield to keep it from over-browning.
- Set the pie on a cooling rack and cool for at least 4 hours before cutting and serving.
Notes
- Fruit pie is best eaten the first day it’s baked.
- You can keep your pie at room temperature for up to 24 hours. After that, cover it loosely and keep it refrigerated for up to 3 days.
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