Old Fashioned Cherry Pandowdy

Enjoy an old-fashioned dessert with the Cherry Pandowdy, featuring a flaky pie crust covering a sweet red cherry filling.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 55

Total Time 1 25

Servings

Calories 167kcal

1 Pie dough Use this homemade pie dough recipe or purchase a store-bought pie dough.

Follow the step-by-step instructions for making the pie dough. Roll it out on a floured surface. Ensure the dough is slightly larger than your pie plate. For instance, if using a 9" pie plate, roll the dough out to about 11" in size.
If using frozen or store-bought pie dough, allow it to defrost first, and then roll it out as shown in the above step.

Wash and dry the cherries, then remove the pit.
In a large bowl combine the fresh pitted cherries, the cherry pie filling, cinnamon, nutmeg, and orange juice then transfer the mixture to a deep dish pie plate. Note- if the cherries are large I sometimes cut them in half.
Cover the cherries with the pie dough, trim any excess dough to 1" inch of the pie plate. Tuck the dough inside the rim of the pie plate and crimp the edge like you would on a pie.
Sprinkle sugar on top of the pie dough.
Place the pie plate on a baking sheet to catch any drips and put it in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove the baking sheet from the oven and using a knife, cut the pie crust into 1" squares, then with a spoon gently poke down the edges of the squares into the hot filling. You do not have to do all the squares.
Return to the oven and bake for 25 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly. Check on the pandowdy to make sure the crust is not getting too brown.
Remove from the oven and let the pandowdy cool for about 20 minutes before serving. Cover any leftovers with foil or plastic wrap for several days.

Notes:

Depending on the size of the fresh cherries, you may want to cut them in half.
If fresh cherries are not available, use canned or frozen cherries.
You will have leftover pie dough. You can re-roll the scrapes and make these Pie Crust Cookies which is what I do because my family loves them. Or, you can reroll the scrapes into a disk, wrap the dough in plastic wrap, then foil and freeze for later.
You can also bake this pandowdy in a 9-inch cake pan.

Grilling option:

I have grilled this pandowdy at cookouts and it's always a hit.

Heat the grill - I use a gas grill with four burners. The two left burners are on high and the right burner is on low. The other burner is not lit. You will have to adjust according to your specific grill.
Use two disposable aluminum pans stacked together to grill the pandowdy.
In a large bowl, combine the fresh pitted cherries, the cherry pie filling, cinnamon, nutmeg, and orange juice, then transfer to a disposable aluminum cake pan.
Roll the pie dough into a circle that is large enough to fit over the pan with an extra inch so you can crimp the dough.
Cover the cherries with the pie dough, trim the edges and crimp the dough. Sprinkle sugar on top of the pie dough.
Place the pan on the grill and cook for about 20 minutes, or until the crust is starting to brown. Open the grill then using a knife, cut the pie crust into 1" squares. Take a spoon and gently poke down the edges of the squares into the hot filling. You do not have to do all the squares. If necessary, remove the pan from the grill because of the heat.
Grill for another 20 minutes or so until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly. Check on the pandowdy to make sure the crust is not getting too brown, if it is cover it with foil
Carefully remove from the hot grill and let cool before eating.