Step 1

Pit and halve the cherries. Add them to a mixing bowl with the sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice and toss to combine. Set aside while you prepare the pie crust. (When using fresh cherries you don't need to cook the mixture, like you do with the canned cherries).

Step 2

Drain the juice from the cans of cherries into a saucepan, reserving 1/3 cup in a small bowl. Set the cherries aside.

Step 3

Add cornstarch to the bowl with the reserved 1/3 cup of juice and stir well to combine.

Step 4

Heat the saucepan (that has the juice in it) over medium heat. Add the sugar and stir well. Bring mixture to a low boil. Stir in dissolved cornstarch mixture. Cook, stirring, until thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in butter and lemon juice. Fold in the cherries. Add a few drops of red food coloring, if desired.

Step 5

Allow mixture to cool to room temperature while you prepare the pie crusts.

Step 6

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grab your 9'' deep dish pie pan. (You can use a regular 9'' pan but you may have more filling than you need).

Step 7

Remove one chilled pie crust dough from the fridge. On a lightly floured counter, roll out your dough to about 12'' in diameter. Gently place in the bottom of your 9'' deep dish pie dish. Spoon the cherry filling into the unbaked crust and sprinkle a little cinnamon over the filling.

Step 8

Remove the second pie crust from the fridge and roll it out in a similar manner. Use a pizza cutter, knife or pastry wheel to cut the crust into long strips, about 1/2'' wide. Lay strips over the crust in a lattice pattern. (If you're lazy, like me, you can just lay half of the strips going one direction, and the others on top, going perpendicular, leaving a small space between each.)

Step 9

Pinch the edges of the top and bottom pie crusts together and crimp the edge, if you like. Brush a thin layer of beaten egg white over the top of the pie crust and sprinkle the crust pieces lightly with granulated sugar.

Step 10

Bake at 400 degrees F for 40-45 minutes. Check it after about 25 minutes and gently place a piece of tinfoil over the top crust to keep it from getting too brown. I remove this tinfoil about 5 minutes before it's done baking.

Step 11

Remove to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool for several hours. Once cooled completely, you can cut and serve it, or cover it and refrigerate it overnight to serve the next day.

Step 12

Leftover cherry pie will last up to 5 days, stored in the fridge.