Happy Independence Day everyone! If you are looking for the quintessential American dessert to serve at the end of your July 4th BBQ, this will do the trick. The cherry filling is sweet and luscious and this pie crust will fill your mouth with its buttery goodness. The best part about this little cutey is that it’s really easy to make – even the crust! Once you’ve made it, you will never buy a store bought crust again.

 Here’s what you’ll need to make your crust:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 
1 tablespoon sugar 
1 teaspoon salt 
2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cubed 
1/3 cup ice water

Pulse flour, sugar and salt in a food processor until combined. Add the cold butter and pulse until mixture resembles course meal, about 10 seconds. Drizzle ice water evenly over mixture. Pulse until mixture holds together when pressed between 2 fingers. Dough should not be wet or sticky. If dough is too dry, add a tiny bit more water and pulse.

 Here’s a little tip: while you are gathering, measuring and adding your dry ingredients to the processor, have your cubed butter and water in the freezer. This will ensure that these ingredients are nice and chilly when it’s their turn to be pulsed. 

Shape dough into 2 disks and wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. This recipe will make enough dough for 1 large pie or 4 minis like the one in the photo.

To make the cherry filling, you’ll need:  
4 cups fresh pitted cherries 
1 cup sugar 
2 tablespoons cornstarch 
1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest 
Cooking spray

In a medium saucepan, combine the pitted cherries and 1 cup water over medium heat for 10 minutes. Cover and let the cherries come to a low boil. They should start to give a little. In a bowl, combine sugar and cornstarch. Whisk together to remove any lumps in the cornstarch. Add the sugar-cornstarch mixture and lemon zest to the cherries. Cook cherry mixture until it comes to a roiling boil. The mixture should start to thicken. If it doesn’t after a few minutes, add a bit more cornstarch. This filling can be made ahead of time and refrigerated for a few days.

 Here’s another tip: if you need to add more cornstarch to the cherry mixture, be sure to whisk out the lumps before you add it in. Trust me, you’ll never get them out otherwise.

By now, your dough is nicely chilled and has had time to rest in the refrigerator. Spread a bit of flour on your work surface and on your rolling pin. Working from the center of the dough, roll your pin over it in a forward motion and rotate the dough a quarter turn. Keep doing this until it’s about 1/4″ thick. If you’ve made your dough correctly, it should be pliable and elastic. Rolling it out should be really easy.

 I like to make little individual pies so I use small tartlet pans (approx 4″ in diameter) with removable bottoms. But you can use any pie plate that you’d like. Just be sure to spray the bottom and sides lightly with butter cooking spray and gently prick the bottom and sides of the dough once you’ve laid it into your pie plate with a fork.

Add your filling and repeat rolling out the other disk of dough for the top of your pie. If you are using a cookie cutter to make a decorative element like I did here, dip your cutter in flour and press firmly into the rolled out dough. Carefully lay the top over your filling and crimp the edges.

To give your pie a lovely golden appearance, brush the top with either a beaten egg or a bit of cream and sprinkle generously with sugar.

 My final tip: with my pie being small, I had very little surface to work on and found it difficult to get an even amount of egg wash on my crust. The next time I make this, I’ll brush the egg on before I place it over the filling and while it is flat on my work surface.

There you have it, a simple, fool-proof cherry pie that is sure to make you and whom ever you choose to share it with very happy!

If you like this recipe, you might also like to try making Strawberry Nutella Panini