Theres nothing better then biting into a slice of tart cherry pie with some vanilla ice-cream on a hot summer day. We are lucky enough to have a tart cherry tree in our backyard, and during the past few days they have reached their peak of perfectly red ripeness. Over the weekend we got out the ladder from the garage and picked for hours until our hands were sticky.
We picked 3 huge bowls full and I immediately started pitting them. This is extremely labor intensive and my hands were cramping by the end but it was completely worth it when the pies came out of the oven. I thought I would share my recipe for these homemade tart cherry pies that have become a tradition in our family every year when July roles around.
*If you don’t have a access to a tart cherry tree you can buy them in the frozen section at most stores 🙂
Ingredients Needed for Homemade Tart Cherry Pies:
Filling:
6 Cups of pitted tart cherries
1/3 cup of corn starch
1 1/2 cup of white sugar
Homemade Gluten Free Pie Crust:
14 Tbsp chilled salted butter (for unsalted add 1/4 cup salt)
2 eggs
3 cups all purpose flour (I used Outrageous Baking GF Flour)
4 Tbsp sugar
4-6 Tbsp ice water
*Makes 6 mini 5″ pies (you can make 1 or 2 big pies if you want instead)
How to Make Homemade Tart Cherry Pie Filing:
1. Pit approx. 6 Cups of ripe tart cherries
2. Put cherries in a medium to large pan and let cook for 10 minutes on medium or until juices are bubbling
3. Mix the cornstarch and sugar together in a small bowl until combined (do not skip this) before adding the mixture to the pan
4. Let cool in the pan or put into jars if you are not using the filling right away
How to Make Homemade Flakey Gluten Free Pie Crust:
1. In a food processor or standup mixer combine butter, flour, sugar, and eggs.
2. Once the mixture is smooth add in the chilled water and blend until fully combined.
How to Make Homemade Tart Cherry Pies:
1. Roll the pie crust until it is around 1/3 inch thick
2. Cut a circle out of the crust that is slightly bigger then the diameter of the pie tin
3. Lay the circle into the pie tin and pinch off any access crust off of the edges
4. Fill the pie with tarte cherry pie filling until it is just slightly higher then the edge of the pie
5. Cut 6 1″ strips out of the pie crust and form the lattice pattern on the top doing one direction and then the other pinching the edges as you go along
6. Repeat this for the other 5 pies
7. Using a fork poke some wholes into the top of the pies and egg wash the tops
8. Bake on 375 for 35-40 minutes or until tops are golden
9. Enjoy 🙂
