This cherry pie is the one to make — featuring a lightly sweetened filling that lets the fresh cherries shine, and a gorgeous lattice crust that absolutely anyone can master.
The best part? You can use this pie’s easy, foolproof formula to make just about any stone fruit pie you please this summer, from peach to plum to nectarines (or a blend of all three). Plus, we’ll teach you how to make the filling in advance, and store it until it’s time for pie.
How to Prevent a Soggy Cherry Pie
The sublime beauty of pie is the contrast between its lush, gooey filling and the crisp, flaky crust. Whether you make pie dough from scratch or buy pre-made crusts from the grocery store, four things will keep it crisp-tender as it bakes.
- Cook juicy fillings. As I mentioned above, cooking the juicy fruit on the stovetop traps the juices into the filling so they don’t run out in the oven. It only takes 10 minutes.
- Brush the bottom crust with egg wash. Brushing the empty pie crust with egg wash creates a protective barrier between the raw dough and the filling. You’ll brush the remaining egg wash onto the top crust for a shiny, golden finish.
- Make a lattice or heavily vented crust. Fruit pies with a double crust (meaning it has both a bottom and top crust) need good ventilation. The steam created in the oven needs to escape for the filling to thicken properly, and releasing that steam prevents the bottom crust from getting soggy. A classic lattice crust provides plenty of ventilation, but you can also use a small cookie cutter to make circular, decorative vent holes, instead.
- Bake the pie on a preheated baking sheet. A blast of heat on the bottom of your pie pan right as the pie goes into the oven will quickly help brown and cook the bottom crust. Bonus? It will catch any drips from the juicy filling.
