Mom’s Cherry Pie with Canned Cherries

Enjoy homemade cherry pie all year long even without fresh cherries. Thanks to the convenience of canned cherries – there’s no cherry pitter required!

I’ve been on a mission to record my Mom’s pie recipes. So far, I’ve shared her lemon meringue pie and banana cream pie recipes. Today’s homemade cherry pie recipe is my oldest brother’s favorite. It’s a classic all American pie – perfect served warm with a scoop of ice cream. 

Come with me into the kitchen and let’s make this. It’s not hard!

Homemade Cherry Pie using Canned Cherries

Ingredients you’ll need:

• 3 ½ cups drained, pitted cherries
• ¾ cup sugar
• ¼ cup flour
• ¼ teaspoon almond extract
• ½ cup cherry juice (from what was drained from the cherries)
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 2 unbaked pie shells

Although there aren’t that many ingredients in this cherry pie recipe, some of them might need some extra clarification.

• Pie Shells: Although I used homemade pie crusts that I made and froze a while ago, you can certainly tap into the time saving convenience of store-bought pie shells. To use my previously made and frozen pie shells, I thawed them completely on the counter before I tried to roll them out.
• Canned Cherries: Note that these are NOT CHERRY PIE FILLING cans that you buy in the store. These are actual canned cherries that you’ll find in the canned fruit aisle with canned pineapple chunks and canned mandarin oranges. The ones that I used in this recipe were Bing cherries – which is one of the most popular type of canned cherries, and I purchased 3 cans to get enough cherries. My mom used to use her own canned cherries that she home-canned (of course she did!). Those cherries were sour cherries or “pie cherries” as they are often referred to. They are seasonal and can only be bought fresh certain times of the year.
• Almond extract: I believe this is the secret ingredient to an amazingly wonderful cherry pie. The subtle almond flavor makes it taste amazing!
• Sugar: Bing cherries are classified as a sweet cherry, so if you want a less sweet pie, you can definitely cut back a bit more on the sugar.
• Butter: I’ve always wondered why butter was dotted over the top of the pie filling. A quick research told me that it is there to help prevent the filling from bubbling over the top of the shell.

Instructions for Easy Homemade Cherry Pie

1. Prepare for baking by preheating the oven to 425 degrees. Roll out your first pie shell and line it in a 9 inch pie pan. Roll out the second pastry and have it ready to put on the top.

(Are you wondering how to measure what size your pie pan is? Just measure the inside of the rim from edge to edge to get an accurate measurement.)

2. Then, you are ready to make your homemade cherry pie filling.

How to make cherry pie filling with canned cherries :

1. In a saucepan, mix together the sugar, flour, almond extract, and cherry juice in a saucepan.  While stirring constantly, cook over medium heat until the mixture thickens and comes to a boil.
2. Place the drained cherries in a large bowl and pour the hot sauce over the cherries. Stir it together gently.
3. Pour the hot cherry pie filling into the prepared pie crust.
4. Cut slits in the top pastry shell and drape it over the pie so it covers the edge and hangs down. Pinch the two crusts together and press into a design around the edge of the pan. Cut off the excess dough with a sharp knife.

Another variation to the top pie crust for a cherry pie is to cut the pastry into strips and weave it together like a lattice. Here is a great tutorial for how to make a lattice top for a pie crust. This time, I rolled some of the leftover dough into a rectangle, cut it into strips and rolled them up to form three “roses”. Using a small knife, I cut out 3 leaf shapes. I placed them on a separate baking dish to bake so I could just set them on top of the pie when it was done. It worked like a charm! I forgot to time how long it took them to bake…Just keep an eye on them.

3. Bake at 425 degrees for 35-45 minutes.

You’ll know the pie is done when the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly.

Check on the pie throughout the baking time. If you notice the crust getting too dark around the edges, cover it with a 2 inch strip of aluminum foil or a pie shield.

Cool pie on a wire rack until ready to serve.

How to serve cherry pie

Cherry pie is best served slightly warm, but not piping hot out of the oven! Typically, the all American cherry pie is served warm with a scoop of ice cream.

Other ideas include:

• sprinkling cinnamon on the ice cream,
• using whipping cream instead of ice cream,
• or drizzling chocolate on the top.

Since I had so much cherry juice left over, I decided to make a cherry glaze using some of the juice, powdered sugar and just a drop of almond flavoring. I drizzled a bit of the glaze on the plate and then over the pie. It makes a pretty pink presentation – along with a scoop of ice cream, of course!

What is your favorite way to eat cherry pie?

For more classic old fashioned recipes, you might want to check these out:

• Buttermilk Banana Bread

• Church Window Cookies

• Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies

• Blackberry Jam

• Strawberry Pie with Jello

• Easy Hamburger Steak Recipe in the Oven

• Grasshopper Pie

• Lemon Bars

• No Bake Cookies

• Homemade Pudding in the microwave

For more recipes and ideas for your home:

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