With a sweet and easy Santa-inspired decoration, this Christmas Cherry Pie can be as hard or as easy as you choose. Either way, this Ho Ho Holiday Cherry Pie upgrade it is sure to impress. And it will look fantastic on your holiday dessert table!
If you ask me, pie is a good idea any time of the year.
But in my mind, it’s especially delicious when the weather cools. A piece of warm pie, straight from the oven, and with a bit of melted vanilla ice cream on the side? To me that is such a cozy experience, perfect for enjoying fireside on a cold winters’ eve.
Recently I started making my “holiday list.” I always want to make Christmas as magical as possible for my kids. In addition to teaching them about the true spirit of the holidays with our random acts of kindness advent calendar, I also want to spoil them a bit.
You see, my Christmas philosophy mirrors my “turtle” life philosophy, which is to live life in the slow lane. I know one day (a day that will come far too fast for me), my kids will be out of the house, having Christmas with their friends or their new families. And so I want to savour every moment that I can, and really live in the moment when it comes to Christmas.
And while I love Christmas baking – in fact it’s one of our family Christmas traditions that I cherish – I also recognize the importance of having easy recipes that require relatively minimal work.
Some days, I want to spend my time playing board games with my kids, not baking up elaborate recipes from scratch in the kitchen, you know?
Enter, this gorgeous Christmas cherry pie.
You see, after years and years of baking experience, I’ve come to realize that sometimes the best ideas are the simplest ideas! While you can spend hours scouring the internet looking for Christmas pie recipes from scratch, there are moments when easy is called for.
And that’s why I love this Christmas cherry pie! It takes premade ingredients and dresses them up a bit. And who doesn’t love the combo of tart cherries with sweet crust (see also my cherry french toast!)?
While purists will say this cherry pie recipe isn’t “from scratch” enough, I say boo hoo to them. This is a pie that gets the job done, lets you spend time with your family, and brings a smile to the faces of whoever eats it!
Serve it for a quick holiday entertaining situation, or gift it to a friend or neighbor! I love giving muffin baskets and other homemade treats as gifts for neighbors. And this holiday cherry pie would make a lovely gesture for a neighbor, and a bit different from the standard cookie platter.
Hint: if you also take some vanilla ice cream with it, you will earn the title of Favorite Neighbor Ever!!
How to Make My Christmas Cherry Pie
Because we have enough stress during the holiday season, I went the simple route with my pie and used pre-made.
Pick up some pre-made pie crust and 2 cans of cherry pie filling, and let the decorations speak for themselves.
Let your pie crust thaw at room temperature for about 15 minutes and then unroll onto a cutting board.
I used 1.5″ cookie cutters to cut out my letters, but feel free to use whatever you have!
Get creative! Spell out “Merry”, or a family joke, or just use a Christmas tree cookie cutter to cut out shapes!
The only thing I altered from the directions on my can of pie filling, was to brush the top crust with a beaten egg white. While I usually glaze my pies with a whole egg (which gives a golden brown color), egg whites don’t add any color to the pie crust, but rather leave a shiny finish that’s perfect for my next step!
I sprinkle about 1 tbsp. of white sugar over the top crust before baking it to give it a little extra sparkle. The egg white helps the sugar stick, and the overall effect is a little extra dazzle! It’s Christmas, after all!
If you happen to have the time and inclination to make everything from scratch, drop it off at my house because it sure will be enjoyed! However, there’s nothing wrong with jazzing up a little pre made holiday baking to save time over the holidays, and spend your time with family and loved ones!
If you enjoyed this recipe, please share it. And be sure to check out some more of my holiday ideas.
Like these Chalkboard Sugar Cookies
Or this wooden photo board that I made last year for my sister-in-law in our homemade gift exchange!
I’d love to have you follow along on Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook too!
Jennifer
Monday 7th of December 2015
What a cute and fun idea. Almost too cute to eat. Almost. All I can say is pass me a fork and the pie, LOL!