Cherry Crumb Pie

Ingredients

• 1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust (store-bought or homemade)
• 5 cups pitted sweet cherries
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup cold butter, cubed
• 1/4 tsp salt

Method

1. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Fit the crust into a 9-inch pie dish and crimp the edges.
2. Toss the pitted sweet cherries with the sugar, thickener, spice, and lemon juice, then spread evenly in the crust.
3. For the crumb topping, rub the flour, brown sugar, butter, and salt together with your fingers until it forms coarse, pea-sized clumps.
4. Scatter the crumb topping evenly over the filling.
5. Bake for 50–60 minutes, tenting the edges with foil if the crust browns too quickly, until the topping is golden and the filling bubbles at the edges.
6. Cool on a wire rack at least 2 hours before slicing.

The Tale of Cherry Crumb Pie

Story updated September 18, 2026

Cherry crumb pie sits at the intersection of two separate American food histories: cherry pie, whose folklore ties to the mostly invented tale of George Washington and the cherry tree, popularized by biographer Mason Locke Weems in 1806, and the German streusel topping brought to Pennsylvania by German-speaking immigrants in the 1600s and 1700s, best known today through Dutch apple pie. Applying a crumb topping to cherry filling instead of a full pastry lid isn't tied to any single inventor or date; it reflects the same kitchen-level, undocumented process that produced other crumb-topped fruit pies, likely picking up steam in the 20th century as home bakers and community cookbooks borrowed the streusel technique across fillings. Michigan's tart Montmorency cherry industry, centered on Traverse City since the mid-1800s, made cherries, and by extension cherry crumb pie, a reliably available regional specialty, especially once canned and frozen tart cherries made the fruit accessible to bakers well outside cherry country.