Cherry Apple Pie

This cherry apple pie is made with a crispy and flaky pie crust and a juicy cherry and apple filling. It's the perfect pie to make during the Fall season!

Jump to:

• Why you'll love this recipe
• Tools
• Ingredients
• How to make cherry apple pie
• Tips for success
• Frequently asked questions
• More pie recipes to try
• Recipe

This cherry apple pie is a simple alternative to a classic apple pie. The sweet cherries add a gorgeous pink colour to the apple pie filling with an additional texture and flavour.

It's all wrapped up in my favourite go-to pie crust that I use in any galette or pie recipe. It always comes out perfectly!

Why you'll love this recipe

• This cherry apple pie is the perfect Fall dessert!
• The pie crust is incredibly flaky and crispy.
• The cherry and apple pie filling is versatile. You can use fresh or frozen cherries or use a different apple variety. You could even get creative and swap them out for different fruits.
• Bonus: Your house will smell amazing as you bake this pie!

Tools

• 9" pie dish - This recipe is scaled for a 9" pie dish. Ceramic pie dishes are great for distributing heat evenly to cook the pie filling without burning the bottom pie crust.
• Dough blender - Optional. A dough blender or pastry cutter breaks down butter into smaller pea-sized pieces for the pie dough quickly so that the butter doesn't melt. You can also just use your hands as long as you work quickly.
• Pastry wheel - Optional. A pastry wheel is basically like a pizza wheel. It can be used to cut the pie dough into strips. You can also just use a knife.
• Kitchen scissors - Optional. Scissors are handy for trimming pie dough easily but you can also just use a knife.
• Pastry brush - You'll need a pastry brush to apply the egg wash to the pie dough.

Ingredients

• All-purpose flour
• Salt
• Unsalted butter - Butter is a key component of a a buttery and flaky pie crust so it's important to use a good quality butter. You should always use cold butter and keep it cold while working with it.
• Ice cold water - Cold water hydrates the dough without warming the butter. You can make ice cold water by either putting a cup of water in the fridge about an hour before using it or stir water with a few ice cubes and measuring out the water afterwards (as some of the ice will melt).
• Apples - Tart and crisp apples work best in apple pies. Try using Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Braeburn, Elstar, or Ambrosia apples. Peel, core, and slice them into ¼" or smaller slices.
• Red cherries - You can use fresh or frozen cherries. If using frozen cherries, thaw them first and discard any excess liquid before using them. Halve the cherries and remove the pits.
• Brown sugar
• Cornstarch - Cornstarch soaks up excess juices released from the apples and cherries to prevent soggy pies.
• Ground cinnamon
• Vanilla extract
• Egg - This is for the egg wash. Brushing pie dough with egg wash makes the crust shiny and golden brown when baked.
• Sugar crystals or coarse sugar - Sprinkling pie dough with sugar crystals or coarse sugar makes it extra crunchy and makes it look like baked goods from bakeries. Large sugar crystals can be found in some grocery stores in the baking or sprinkle section or in specialty baking stores. You can also use coarse sugar like turbinado sugar or demerara sugar.

How to make cherry apple pie

For the pie crust

Cut butter into flour - In a mixing bowl, stir together flour and salt. Toss the cold butter in the flour. Use a dough blender or your fingers to press the butter into pea-sized pieces, tossing them in flour occasionally, until you have a coarse flour mixture.

Hydrate flour - Make a well in the middle of the flour. Pour ice cold water into the well. Mix the flour and water together until it forms a shaggy dough.

Form dough - Turn the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Use your hands to press the dough together and fold it onto itself 2-3 times, just until it holds together. Don't overwork the dough.

Chill dough - Cut the dough into two portions. Shape each half into a flattened disc shape. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and chill them in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Bottom crust - On a floured surface, roll out the first disc of dough until about ⅛" thick, lifting and turning it to prevent it from sticking to the surface.

Roll the dough onto the rolling pin and unroll it over a 9" pie dish. Press the dough into the bottom edges of the pie dish. Trim any excess dough, leaving about a 1" overhang on the edge of the pie dish.

For the pie filling

Make filling - In a mixing bowl, add apple slices, pitted cherries, brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. Toss together to coat.

Add filling - Add the cherry and apple filling into the pie dish on top of the bottom crust. There should be enough filling to form a dome since it will lose a bit of volume after being baked.

Assemble the pie

Top crust - On the same floured surface, roll out the second disc of dough until about ⅛" thick. Use a knife or pastry wheel to cut 1" strips. For the braids, cut two of the strips into 3 strands and braid them together, slightly stretching the dough to make it thinner.

Make lattice - Lay down the first two strips in a cross on top of the pie filling. Lay down a strip on either side of the strip that's on the bottom.

Alternate lifting up every other strip and placing down a new strip. Repeat with the opposite strips. Once finished, trim the lattice to about the same size as the pie dish.

Crimp the crust - Fold over the excess dough edges and press down to thin out the crust. Use your index finger and thumb on both hands to press the crust into a wavy pattern.

Preheat - Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Egg wash - Use a pastry brush to gently brush beaten egg across the dough. Sprinkle with sugar crystals.

Bake - Place the pie dish on top of a baking sheet to catch any overflowing juices and bake the pie at 425°F for 15 minutes. Lower the temperature to 350°F and bake for another 50-55 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling.

Cool - Let the pie cool for at least 1-2 hours for the filling to set or until you can touch the bottom of the dish with your hand. Slice and serve with a scoop of ice cream!

Tips for success

• Always keep the butter and pie dough cold. This is the key to flaky pie crusts. If the butter or dough seems too warm or if you've been working on it for a while, pop it back into the fridge for 15 minutes.
• Don't overwork the dough. Pie dough shouldn't be kneaded or worked too much otherwise it will become tough when baked.
• Roll the dough out thinly. This is essential for a flaky and crispy pie crust that isn't hard and gummy. This pie dough should be rolled out to about ⅛" or less. For any overlapping dough that is thick like the lattice or crimped crust, press it down or slightly stretch the dough in these areas to thin it out. Trim any excess dough so that it doesn't add to the bulk.
• Overfill the pie with filling. The filling should form a dome above the pie dish. It will lose volume as it bakes and will flatten out after baking. This is how you get a pie with a thick filling that doesn't sink in.
• Let the pie cool and set before serving. It's tempting to slice into the pie while it's hot out of the oven, but the filling needs time to set otherwise it will be watery and the pie crust will collapse. You can serve it warm when the bottom of the pie dish is cool enough to touch with your bare hand. Reheat cooled slices of pie if you want to serve them hot.

Frequently asked questions

More pie recipes to try

• Blueberry Apple Pie
• Apple Hand Pies
• Cranberry Hand Pies
• Cherry Galette
• Peach Plum Galette

Recipe