Mulled Cherry Bomb Pie.
What would the 4th of July be without pie?

Pie on the 4th is an essential, along with a big scoop of ice cream. The funny thing is, growing up pie was really never a dessert that was presented to me. Well, wait I take that back. Mom always made pecan pie and chocolate chip cookie pie, but never, ever, a fruit pie. It just was not her thing.
Honestly, it was only recently that I even started making fruit filled desserts, but as you guys have probably noticed, I am now in love with them.
A little story for you? The very first pie I ever made was way back when I was twelve. My parents where hosting a 4th of July party back in Cleveland and I really, really wanted to make my grandpa one of his favorite pies…apple pie! I feel like there’s nothing more American than an apple pie, right?
Anyway, I made a simple apple pie with a recipe adapted from Williams-Sonoma’s, The Kids Cookbook. I’m not sure why I thought I could make a pie when I’d never even attempted one before, but I lucked out…big time. To this day that pie is one of my most favorite pies I’ve ever made. Seriously.
And to this day, I LOVE making pies. Again, I haven’t made many fruity pies, but all that is changing!
PS. I have that apple pie recipe in my cookbook…just sayin’.



Ahh so yeah, that’s my little pie story for ya today….onto THIS pie recipe…which I LOVE!
Today’s pie is not an apple pie, but seeing as it’s cherry season I just HAD to make a cherry pie. This pie recipe is also one of my favorites. It’s SO so good and was actually supposed to be a recipe in the cookbook, but due to space issues, it had to be cut. It came down to this pie or that original apple pie. And while I love this pie SO much, the apple pie holds a truly special place in my heart, so that one had to stay!
The good news is, now I get to share this pie with you. Yeahhhhhh!




So are you ready to make the most perfect cherry pie of your life? Cool, because I’m ready to tell you how. Three words, the sweetest red cherries + red wine + butter… it’s that simple. While I have a serious love for all chocolate desserts, I’ve also come to love a really good, really fruity pie. It’s a different kind of love, but strong nonetheless. This pie has become my secret weapon. I make it whenever I’m in need of something really pretty, but equally delicious. Basically, a dessert that’s completely brag worthy. This is easier than you might think, and if you fear making a homemade pie crust, don’t fear mine, it’s as simple and no-fail as they get. I have to say, this crust is kind of amazing… flaky, buttery and all kinds of perfection. Especially when filled with my sweet, boozy mulled cherry filling. Yes, yes, yes, to mulled cherries. All you red wine lovers out there, this pie is for you. The cherries are simmered in red wine before being added to the filling, and it is just about the most incredible thing ever.
Even if you don’t love red wine, but love cherries, this pie is still amazing. The wine just adds a sweet flavor that pairs so well with the deep, dark red cherries. It. Is. So. GOOD. <–trust me.



It’s also so easy. I used my homemade pie crust recipe, but you can of course use store-bought if that’s easier, and the filling consists of a grand total of just five ingredients. The wine and cherries are the stars here, and because the wine is sweet, we don’t need to add much extra sugar.
Serve this pie slightly warm, with my no-churn graham cracker ice cream, and umm…prepare to enter pie wonderland.





Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Mulled Cherry Bomb Pie
By halfbakedharvest
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: cherry pie, fruit pie, sweet pie
This cherry pie is the best you will ever have!
Ingredients
- 1 cup red wine
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 pounds fresh or frozen cherries, pitted
- 3 tablespoons corn starch
- 2 pie crust rounds, homemade or store-bought
Instructions
-
1. In a medium saucepan, bring the wine, brown sugar, and vanilla extract to a boil. Boil 3-4 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved. Add the cherries and simmer until the cherries soften slightly, about 5 minutes.
2. In a small bowl, whisk the cornstarch with cold water until completely smooth. Pour the cornstarch mixture into the cherries, stirring until combined. Reduce the heat and simmer 1-2 minutes, until the sauce has lightly thickened around the cherries. Remove from the heat and let cool completely before filling your pie.
3. Grease an 8-inch pie plate. Roll out 1 disk of dough onto a lightly floured surface to a 12-inch round. Carefully transfer the crust to the prepared pie plate. Lift up the edges and allow the dough to sink down into the bottom of the dish. Trim edges to even out crust if needed, then prick the bottom of the dough with a fork a few times. Now grab the remaining disk of dough and roll it out onto a lightly floured surface to a 12-inch round. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Set aside.
4. Grab your cooled cherry pie filling. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pie crust. Make sure to scrape in all the good juices out of the pan. Grab the reserved pie round and place overtop of the cherries. Push the edges of the top crust into the pie plate and then crimp the edges of the bottom crust together with the top crust to seal the pie
5. Brush the top crust with the beaten egg and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Using a sharp knife, slice four holes in the top of the crust for air pockets. Cover and chill pie until crust is firm, at least 1 hour.
6. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake until crust is golden, about 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. and bake until juices are bubbling and crust is deep golden brown, about 50–60 minutes longer - if the crust is getting too brown, tent with foil. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool before slicing.
7. Serve the pie warm or cool with a big scoop of ice cream!

OK, this is going to be good, it’s time for the weekend…and pie!
Thank you for the most beautiful and inspiring blog! Amazing photos and recipes! So looking forward till the book comes out in the fall.
Thank you so much Pernille! I am excited for you to see it!
Haha, so HERE is the pie recipe that I couldn’t find, when you linked to it in your previous post and I got a “page not found” message 🙂
Oops, sorry about that Liz. Glad you found it though! I hope you love it! Thank you ?
Ohh. this pie looks so GOOD. I wish to have one piece right now. I love cherry a lot!
Happy 4th of July!
Happy Fourth of July to you as well Carlos! I hope you love this pie ? Thank you!
Wow! This pie screams 4th of July!!! But i may have to make it on the 4th of August lol. Cause taking the kids on a trip to Camden N.J. to see fireworks on the U.S.S New Jersey Battleship. We’ve been there a few times, it’s a museum & they have many events & also an overnight encampment (which we’ve done) you get a tour & sleep in same beds former navymen have slept & ate. Great experience , I highly recommend.
http://www.battleshipnewjersey.org/visit/
Happy & safe 4th everyone.
Wow that sounds amazing! I hope you and your family have a great 4th of July Karen! This pie will be perfect on the 4th of August as well haha! Thank you ?
I made this pie yesterday, couldn’t wait till Aug. 4th Lol! It was Amazing! We had movie night & watched the animated movie Sinbad:Legend of the seven seas & made this, Did all stars with pie crust top, to do like a a celestial constellation theme to go with movie.
Great recipe, the perfect cherry pie!
Awh that sounds like an amazing night! Thank you Karen, I am thrilled you enjoyed this!
Wondering……are those tart cherries or bing?
I use bing as I cant find tar cherries where I live. Sorry if that was confusing. Let me know if you have questions. Hope you love the pie!
I baked with cherries for the first time this week and it was so good! How do you put 3 lbs of cherries??? I had cherry juice everywhere. It was a mess!baza
Hey Lori! Baking with fresh cherries can be messy! I use a cherry pitter to help the process go faster. The on I use is below. Let me know if you have any questions, hope you love the pie!
http://rstyle.me/n/cp42ajb9wzf
I baked with cherries for the first time this week and it was so good! How do you pit 3 lbs of cherries??? I had cherry juice everywhere. It was a mess!
You don’t note that you appeared to use Sweet Bing Cherries as opposed to the sour cherries one normally would put in a cherry pie…is this the case?
Hi Clair, sorry about about that. Yes, I did use bing cherries as they are all I kind find in my store and I love baking with them! 🙂 Let me know if you have any questions. Hope you love the pie!
To easily pit cherries put the cherry on top of a pop bottle with stem up. Push a plastic straw straight down and through the cherry dropping the pit and drips into the bottle
Thank you Tieghan! This pie looks amazing! I love cherry pie! What kind of red wine did you use?
Thank you! I used a merlot, but any red wine that you drink will work. Let me know if you have questions. Hope you love the pie!
Omg. Stop it. I love that you’re delving into the fruit-dessert world. Pie is my FAVORITE. In fact, when I get married… one day… I’ve decided I’ll have a wedding pie instead of cake. There’s something about that flakey, buttery crust that just makes me go nuts!
Can’t wait to make this one!
I hope you love it Libby! That pie for your wedding sounds awesome haha! Thanks so much!
A slick way pit cherries is to use a plastic slurpy straw – remove stem, position straw where stem was, and push straight through to the other end – the pit will be in the straw – blow it into the trash and carry on!
A stainless steel (plain) piping tip also works!
Such a great little trick! Thanks so much for letting me know Marge!
This is absolute pie perfection! Love your pretty lattice top! 🙂
Awh thank you so much!!
This pie is absolutely perfect for the 4th!!! LOVE this!
Yes!! I hope you love this Alice!
OMG. Trevor’s FAVE pie is cherry! YUM!
Thanks Jennifer!
Such a gorgeous pie Tieghan! The 4th wouldn’t be the 4th without pie. Love the lattice and the stars!
Thank you Mary Ann!
I only like raw cherries, but my husband would DIE for this. He loves cherry pies, no matter how, when he loves them. Might have to give in and bake him this one…
https://bloglairdutemps.blogspot.pt/
Ooo! Sounds like he’d be pretty excited for this!!
I’m making this! Today!!! Have not tried cherry anything in forever but looks amazing…Also, could you perhaps do a mile high fresh strawberry pie? Like the pre-baked crust with big juicy strawberries and fresh whipped cream type? I have been looking everywhere for a seasonal recipe and have turned up with nothing- any recipe but one of yours is bound to disappoint! Hugs & Kisses- you’re the best!!!❤️?
Hey Gia!! A mile high strawberry pie?!?! Oh my gosh, that just sounds incredible!! I will look into this for sure, thank you for the suggestion. Hope you loved the cherry pie! 🙂
Made it! It looks and smells wonderful. I didn’t do the braid around the crust. Do you have a technique for that? I posted on Instagram, but didn’t tag you … I’ll try to fix that. I call I Stars and Stripes cherry pie. ? Dean
YEAH!!! So excited you loved the pie, thank you! Here is a couple great tutorial on the braiding of the crust. Let me know if you have questions. Thank you again! 🙂
Link 1: http://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/how-to/slideshow/braided-pie-crust
Link 2 : http://www.marthastewart.com/274216/making-decorative-piecrusts
Thought I already did this … but here it is again! I made this today and it looks and smells wonderful! I’m wondering if you have a technique for the braided edge to the crust … I think my pastry is too “fragile” to cut into strips that thin and try to braid. I posted the pic on Instagram and went back to tag you afterward. BTW … I pitted 163 cherries to get the filling … only found (so far) 5 pits while cooking the cherries. Hopefully that’s all of them!!
oops. Sure wish I could delete one of those. {/-(
haha! No worries, let me know if you have other questions.
hi, It looks and smells wonderful. thanks for sharing
So glad you like it! Thanks!
Hi!
I’m making this now 🙂
One sugguestion though- it would be great if your listed times included the cool down times. Here I was thinking this adventure would take an hour and a half, but it will actually be closer to 3 hours
Hey Aimee! So sorry it took longer than you expected! I’ll try to make the cooking/ cooling times more specific. Thanks!
Another beautiful creation of yours. Hope you had a great 4th!
Thank you Matt! I hope your 4th was amazing as well!
It,s seems very yummy. A really wonderful dish you have put on your site.
Thank you!
Hi!
I recently discovered your blog and it’s wonderful concoction of inspiring recipes and beautiful visuals, great job! 🙂
I stumbled upon this recipe and I just Have to try it since cherries are starting to appear in markets again. I love cherries and I’ve wanted to try the “american style” fruity pies for a while now. 🙂
I have one question though: Do you use regular red wine or mulled wine? Where I come from there’s a huge difference between those and the other one is not actually called “red wine” at all. Initially I was thinking you were using just normal red wine but you mention the wine being very sweet and the name of the pie would suggest it’s actually mulled wine you’re using?
Wishing you a lovely and sunny weekend!
Hey Anni! I like to use regular wine. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thanks!
In your directions, the numbered steps skip from 2 to 4. Was that a typo or are we missing some piece of the procedure for this absolutely lovely sounding pie?
HI! So sorry about that, this is a typo and the recipe is now fixed. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
Super delicious! I did not have any red wine so I used a combo of cherry juice and some black cherry liqueur. It wasn’t too sweet which was great. I made the crust using your buttermilk crust. It was my first time making and eating a cherry pie. I loved it and so did my whole family. Thank you for always creating consistent and delicious foods.
Thank you so much! So glad you loved this! xTieghan
I’ve make six cherry pies since you introduced this recipe. It’s awesome! Cherry season is over so I used frozen ones for the first time. The extra water in frozen cherries made the filling much runnier. In the future, what alterations would you suggest when using frozen cherries? The taste was the same but the consistency was different. I had to pour a lot of filling down the sink so the pie came out flatter in appearance. I don’t wish to waste a drop!
Hi David! How wonderful! Thanks for sharing! I would suggest letting the frozen cherries thaw completely before cooking with them. Rinse thoroughly with warm water and let them drain. And possibly do a light press in the colander while draining to remove excess liquid. Or you could add additional cornstarch to the filling to thicken the juices. Hope that helps for next time!
Would love to make this pie for Christmas but it says mix the corn starch with water. How much water do you add to the 3 tbsp of corn starch. Thanks !
Hi Rachael! Use 1/4 cup water. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you and happy holidays! xTieghan
Hello! I’m looking forward to making this! I don’t have a scale and the market I bought cherries does not have a scale either. How many cups of cherries usually equals 3 pounds?
HI! You need about 6-7 cups of cherries. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you and happy holidays! xTieghan
This recipe looks amazing. I was wondering if I could use frozen cherries instead? I can’t seem to find good cherries in stock right now where I live.
Hi Tracey,
Yes that is totally fine just be sure to thaw and drain them first. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Hello,
I love cherry pie and was so excited to make this. The flavor was delicious! You can taste the wine 🙂 However, I struggled with the filling consistency. It was so runny! I want to give this another go, but any tips to avoid a runny filling? What could have gone wrong?
Hey Sheris,
I am so sorry you had issues with the filling. I am wondering if you adjusted the recipe at all? Next time I would try simmering the filling a little longer until it thickens up. I hope this helps! xTieghan
Hi! this looks amazing – do you think I could use blueberries instead of cherries? I know that changes the recipe but I am looking for a blueberry pie for my mother in law, as she loves it and I love the look of this pie!!
Hey Michelle,
Yes blueberries would be great! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Would this pie be able to be made the day before I need it?
This is nice information.
Thank you! xTieghan
This pie was amazing! My whole family enjoyed it! I didn’t have enough cherries so we used a 1/2lb of cranberries instead and it was great! I think I will always add some cranberries, delicious!
Hey Christine,
I am so thrilled that you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for giving it a try! Happy New Year! xTieghan
So. I have always hated any sort of fruit pie besides apple but this pie has become a new obsession of mine! I absolutely love it and so does everyone in my family! The recipe that is linked for the crust is absolutely perfect!! It pairs wonderfully with the cherries and I plan to use it with any pie I make from here on out. I’ve added spices to the filing every time I’ve made it (freshly ground cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and star anise- the star anise really brings it to the next level!!) and some salt but I bet it’s wonderful without as well.
Hey Azaria,
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for giving it a try! Have a great week:) xTieghan