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Get the Recipe: Easy Canned Cherry Pie Recipe

This canned cherry pie is one of the easiest cherry pie recipes you'll ever try, thanks to an all-butter pie crust recipe that's made in a stand mixer and a sweet and tart canned cherry pie filling!
(4.75 stars) 12 reviews

Ingredients

For the Stand Mixer All-Butter Pie Dough:

  • 1 cup (8 ounces or 227 grams) very cold unsalted butter
  • 6 Tablespoons (3 ounces or 85 grams) very cold water
  • 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 cup ice
  • 2 ½ cups (11.25 ounces or 319 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ teaspoons granulated sugar
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt

For the Canned Cherry Pie Filling:

  • 1 (15-ounce or 425 grams) can pitted dark sweet cherries
  • 1 (14.5-ounce or 411 grams) can pitted red tart cherries
  • ¼ cup tightly packed (1.85 ounces or 52 grams) brown sugar
  • ¼ cup (1.75 ounces or 50 grams) granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup (1 ounce or 28 grams) cornstarch
  • Zest of 1 small lemon (about 1 Tablespoon)
  • 1 Tablespoon strained freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • pinch of kosher salt
  • 1 (15-ounce or 425 grams) can pitted dark sweet cherries OR 1 (14.5-ounce or 411 grams) can pitted red tart cherries, drained (optional—see Ingredients section for more info)

Instructions
 

Easy Canned Cherry Pie Recipe

  • First, make the pie dough. Cut the butter into 1-inch cubes and place them in a small bowl. Freeze while you prep the rest of the ingredients.
  • In a large liquid measuring cup, whisk together the water and vinegar. Add the ice and whisk. Refrigerate while you prep the rest of the ingredients.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Beat on low until just combined, about 15 seconds. Add the butter all at once and beat on low until the mixture has the texture of coarse meal, with pea-sized pieces of butter throughout, about 3 minutes.
  • Remove the ice water mixture from the refrigerator. With the mixer on low, add 6 tablespoons of liquid from the ice water mixture in quick succession. Beat on low for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the dough clumps around the paddle and/or the sides of the bowl. If the dough seems too dry, add more liquid from the ice water mixture 1 teaspoon at a time.
  • Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured counter with the spatula. Quickly knead the dough into a rough ball. If making a double-crust pie, divide the dough in half with a bench scraper and shape each half into a rough ball (each should weigh about 11 ounces). Wrap each portion tightly in plastic wrap and flatten into a small disc. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight.
  • Then, make the canned cherry pie filling. Place a fine-mesh sieve over a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Pour the canned cherries on top of the sieve so that their juices drain into the saucepan. Set aside the cherries (you’ll need them for later, so don’t throw them out!), and cook the juices, over medium-high heat, until reduced to ¼ cup. 
  • Lower the cooking temperature to medium and add the cherries, sugars, cornstarch, lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt. Cook, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, for another 2 to 3 minutes, or until the cherries have released their juices and the mixture is thick and glossy. Use a rubber spatula to scrape into a medium glass bowl and cool completely before using in the pie.
  • Now, make the pie's bottom crust. Remove one of the dough discs from the refrigerator and place on a lightly floured surface. Use a rolling pin to roll it into a 10- to 11-inch circle. If the dough is too hard to roll out, give it a few whacks with your rolling pin, rotating the disc after every whack to ensure that it flattens evenly.
  • Fit the bottom crust onto your pie pan. Transfer the dough circle onto your pie pan to make the bottom crust. Use kitchen shears to trim off any excess pie dough overhanging from the pan, making sure that the edge of the bottom crust aligns with the edge of the pan. Dust a fork with flour and press its tines into the dough all around the edges of the pan to seal the crust onto the pan.
  • Fill the bottom crust with the canned cherry pie filling. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the canned cherry pie filling into the bottom crust, spreading the filling evenly across the pan. Refrigerate the filled bottom crust while you make the pie's top crust.
  • Make the pie's top crust. Remove the second dough disc from the refrigerator and follow the instructions above to roll it into a 10- to 11-inch circle. Use a floured cherry-shaped cookie cutter to stamp out shapes in the dough. Arrange on top of the canned cherry pie filling. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and freeze for 4 hours, preferably overnight.
  • Bake the pie. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 375°F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Remove the frozen pie from the freezer, discard the plastic wrap, and place the pie in the center of the prepared sheet pan. Bake for 60 to 65 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the fruit juices are bubbling slowly in the center of the pie. Check the pie 45 minutes into the Bake Time— if the crust is browning too quickly, loosely cover the top of the pie with a sheet of foil.
  • Serve and store. Cool on a wire rack for at least 1 hour before slicing. Serve warm or at room temperature. The pie can be stored at room temperature, under a cake dome or a large bowl turned upside down, for up to 1 day. After that, cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Notes

  • For this canned cherry pie recipe, I recommend using a shallow, metal pie pan similar to this one. In general, I recommend metal over glass or ceramic pie plates. Why? First, metal pans make crispier pie crusts. Second, metal pie pans are safer. Most pie recipes instruct you to chill or even freeze the assembled pie before baking. Glass bakeware is sensitive to sudden changes in temperature. If you place a frozen glass pie plate in the hot oven, it might potentially shatter! If you only have a glass or ceramic pie plate, no worries! I’ve incorporated several tips throughout this post that helps you adjust for your equipment. Similarly, if you only have a deep-dish pie pan or plate, you may need to increase the amount of cherries in the canned cherry pie filling. That’s why there’s an optional, additional can of cherries in the Ingredients list. You won’t need to use this additional can with a shallow pie pan.
  • In the ingredients list below, I’ve made sure to note the temperature of specific ingredients needed for the recipe. Pay attention to these temperature cues. In general, when making pie, you want your ingredients to be as cold as possible. Cold ingredients make the resulting dough easier to work with!
  • Most pie recipes instruct the baker to brush the pie with an egg wash before baking. This egg wash makes the pie extra crispy and golden-colored. However, I skip doing so in the recipe below. Why? I find that egg washes can hide and distort the shapes on my pie crust lid. But if an egg wash is your jam, go for it! To make an egg wash, whisk together 1 large egg white and 1 teaspoon water. Right before baking the assembled pie, use a pastry brush to coat the top of the pie with a thin layer of egg wash. If desired, sprinkle with coarse sugar, too. Bake as directed in the recipe.
  • If you find that your pie dough is sticking—either to the counter after rolling it out, or to the cookie cutter when stamping out shapes for the lid—don’t panic! Simply use more flour underneath the pie dough when rolling it and on the cookie cutter. If the additional flour doesn’t help, that likely means the pie dough has gotten too warm. Simply refrigerate the rolled out dough for 10 to minutes before trying again.
     
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