Step 1

Prepare crust in advance and divide into two disks. Make sure the dough has time to rest before assembling the pie.

Step 2

Position rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 425°F.

Step 3

Drain the cherries and reserve ½ cup of the juice.

Step 4

Stir together the cornstarch, salt, cherries, sugar, lemon juice, reserved cherry juice, and vanilla extract.

Step 5

Roll out 1 dough disk on floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch pie dish. Trim dough overhang to ½ inch. If using egg white, paint the crust with the egg white to “seal” it.

Step 6

Roll out second dough disk on floured surface to 12-inch round. Using large knife or pastry wheel with fluted edge, cut ten ¾-inch-wide strips from dough round. (You can also just roll into a round and use this to top the pie if you don’t want to make a lattice crust).

Step 7

Transfer filling to dough-lined dish, mounding slightly in center.

Step 8

Arrange dough strips over filling, forming lattice; trim dough strip overhang to ½ inch. Fold bottom crust up over ends of strips and crimp edges to seal. Brush lattice crust (not edges) with milk. (If not using a lattice crust, slash the top decoratively to allow steam to escape while baking). Sprinkle the top crust with sugar.

Step 9

Place pie on rimmed baking sheet and bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F. Bake pie until filling is bubbling and crust is golden brown, covering edges with foil collar if browning too quickly, about 1 hour longer.

Step 10

Transfer pie to rack and cool completely.