Sour Cherry Pie

Ingredients

• 1 package (2 crusts) refrigerated pie dough (store-bought or homemade), or a double batch of homemade dough
• 5 cups pitted sour (tart) cherries
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)
• 1 tbsp coarse sugar, for sprinkling

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Fit one crust into a 9-inch pie dish.
2. In a large bowl, gently toss the pitted sour (tart) cherries with the sugar, thickener, spice, lemon juice, and salt until evenly coated.
3. Pour the filling into the crust and dot with the butter pieces.
4. Top with the second crust, forming a lattice top, or cut several vents in a full top crust. Crimp the edges to seal, then brush the top with the beaten egg and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
5. Bake for 45–55 minutes, until the crust is deep golden and the filling is bubbling through the vents.
6. Cool on a wire rack at least 2 hours before slicing so the filling has time to set.

The Tale of Sour Cherry Pie

Story updated September 19, 2026

While sweet cherry pie traces to old-world England, the sour, or tart, cherry pie beloved across the American Midwest has a more specific story. The Montmorency cherry, named for a valley north of Paris, came to America with European settlers. By the commonly told account, Presbyterian missionary Peter Dougherty planted cherry trees on Michigan's Old Mission Peninsula in 1852, though local historians call that story unverified. The area around Traverse City became a leading tart cherry region, calls itself the Cherry Capital of the World, and launched the National Cherry Festival in 1926. Tart cherries are too sour to eat out of hand, so they went mostly into pies, jams and preserves.