A sweet and summery pie. This strawberry cherry pie will be your summer pie go-to. Fresh strawberries and cherries are macerated with vanilla beans and fill a flaky, buttery crust. What more could you possibly want?

Please don’t laugh at my nonexistent lattice skills. The last time I attempted a lattice on a pie was back in 2006 when I made my first pie from scratch (cherry pie if you were curious) and I actually ended up throwing pie dough across my kitchen while crying. It was not a pretty sight. After that, I swore off pie making in general (until maybe 2012), and hadn’t attempted a lattice until just now with this pie. Sure, I could have remade the pie with a lattice that maybe would have turned out better, but I wanted to be real with you.

At least the lattice ended up on the strawberry cherry pie and not the kitchen walls this time.

I was inspired to bake a pie after thumbing through The Pie and Pastry Bible. After reading through the first section of the book, I decided to work on my pie making skills this summer and track my progress here on the blog. Consider this attempt #1.

Don’t be fooled by this being the first attempt of the summer. This strawberry cherry pie still hits all the marks. The pastry is tender, flaky, and buttery. The kind of pie crust that makes you wish you could just make the crust on its own and snack on just that. For a tender crust, it is still sturdy enough to handle and toy around with. Perfect for a novice such as myself to try something new.

I macerated the fruit with a touch of almond extract and vanilla bean (I prefer Rodelle) to bring out the flavor of the cherries and add more depth to the overall flavor of the pie. Simple, wholesome, and delicious. The best pies are usually the simplest.

So get in the kitchen and make yourself a good old fashioned pie.

Strawberry Cherry Pie Recipe

Yield: 1 9-inch pie

Strawberry Cherry Pie

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Prep Time 35 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

For the Pie Crust

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons shortening, cut in cubes and frozen
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut in cubes and frozen
• 6 tablespoons ice water
• egg wash (1 egg yolk, 1 tablespoon of water)

For the Filling

• 1 1/2 lbs strawberries, hulled and sliced
• 1 1/2 lbs pitted cherries
• 1 vanilla bean
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch (I used arrowroot starch)
• pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Mix together the flour and salt together for the crust. Pulse in a food processor. Add the shortening and butter and pulse until the mixture resembled pea-sized crumbs. Slowly add the ice water one tablespoon at a time as the motor is running, Stop after each tablespoon to check the pie crust consistency. It should look almost like sand, but some together when pressed.
2. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and divide the dough into one piece that is 1/3 and the other should be 2/3. roll out into discs and place in the refrigerator for at least an hour, preferably overnight.
3. Roll out the larger piece of dough into a circle that is 1/4 inch thick on a lightly floured surface. Place on a pie pan, there should be some overhang. Roll out the second disc and cut into strips.
4. Mix together the berries, the beans from the vanilla bean, almond extract, cornstarch, and salt. Allow to macerate for at least 5 - 10 minutes. Pour the filling into the pastry-lined pie pan.
5. Weave the lattice onto the pie crust. You can do this by placing strips all going the same direction, then lifting up every other strip and resting another strip going the opposite direction. Repeat lifting up the strips that you had previously left down on the pie. Tuck in the overhang from the bottom crust and the top crust under the lip of the pie pan.
6. Freeze the pie for at least 20 minutes as you preheat the oven.
7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
8. Take out the pie from the freezer and brush with the egg wash, being careful to only get the lattice and not the filling.
9. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove and cover the edges with aluminum foil. Bake for an additional 30 - 40 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling and the crust is a light golden brown.