Spice Free Cherry Pie with All-Butter Crust
Few desserts hit quite like a bubbling cherry pie fresh from the oven, and this one delivers that classic, deeply satisfying experience without a single spice in sight. The filling leans on tart cherries, lemon juice, and just a touch of almond extract for brightness and depth — no cinnamon, no cloves, no nutmeg — making it a genuinely safe and delicious choice for anyone who needs to keep warming spices off the table. The all-butter crust is the real star here: cold cubed butter worked into flour creates those irresistible flaky layers that shatter at the fork and melt on your tongue. Cooking the cherry filling on the stovetop before it ever hits the oven means you get a thick, glossy, jammy interior rather than a watery disappointment. The two-stage bake — starting hot, then dropping the temperature — ensures the crust turns a deep, burnished gold while the filling sets up perfectly. Letting the finished pie rest for a full two hours before slicing is genuinely worth the patience, because it gives the cornstarch time to do its job and keeps every slice clean and gorgeous on the plate.
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Learn more →Ingredients
8 servings
For the crust
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes and chilled
- 6–8 tbsp ice water
For the filling
- 5 cups pitted tart cherries, fresh or frozen (thawed and drained if frozen)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- ¼ tsp almond extract
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
For assembly
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp whole milk
- 1 tbsp coarse sugar (optional)
Instructions
- 1
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, 1 tbsp granulated sugar, and 1 tsp salt. Add the chilled butter cubes and work them into the flour using a pastry cutter or your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized butter pieces remaining.
- 2
Drizzle in ice water 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with a fork after each addition, until the dough just holds together when pressed — it should not be sticky or wet. You will likely need 6–8 tablespoons total.
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