Cut about ⅓ of your pitted cherries in half

In a pot, add your whole and half pitted cherries, your lemon juice, sugar and salt. Let simmer on medium heat for about 5 minutes until it starts to lightly bubble and mix carefully and avoid burning.

Add your cinnamon, cornstarch and mix till the add-ins are evenly distributed and simmer on low heat for about 3-5 minutes. The mixture should thicken, and coat cherries. The cherries will soften. Taste and adjust to taste, you may want more acidity (lemon juice) or more sweetness (granulated sugar). Simmer for a minute of two longer if the mixture is still too thin or juicy.

Pull off heat and add in your butter and vanilla, allow the butter to melt and mix it in.

Place your cherry filling into a bowl to cool slightly before covering with plastic wrap or placing in a tupperware for more long term storage (up to 3 days) and let cool completely in the fridge.

In a bowl add flour, sugar and salt and whisk together.

Add cubed cold unsalted butter and use a pastry cutter to put the butt into the flour into a coarse crumb form. Alternatively you can place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse a few times).

Place flour, sugar and salt into the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to combine.

Add your ice water and mix with a wooden spoon until moist clumps form. If done in a food processor pulse just until moist clumps or small balls form.

Use your fingers to press the dough together to form a big dough ball. It should be dry and crumbly but still hold together. If you are having issues with it staying together add ice cold water a tablespoon at a time. Do not add too much water you don't want sticky dough

On a clean work surface, cut the dough in half and form each half into a disk. Cover the disks with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 1 hour before rolling out. You can keep it in the fridge overnight and use it the next day if you want to prepare ahead.

When ready to use crusts, remove from the fridge and on a clean light floured surface and with a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out the dough until a very rough circle is rolled out. It should be about 13 inches wide. Place this into a clean 9 inch pie pan.

Roll out the second circle so it is about 12 inches wide and cut it into 10 strips of dough (5 horizontal, 5 vertical).

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Take your pie pan lined with your bottom crust, there will be hang over and this is okay. Pour your prepared cherry pie filling into it and smoothen out.

Cross-hatch the strips of pie dough on top of the filling. Place 5 strips in one orientation (vertical), then working one strip at a time from bottom to top, add the horizontal strips, lifting up every other vertical strip to place overtop the horizontal one to form a basket weaving pattern.

Tuck in the excess dough then pinch with both hands to seal and create a decorative edge.

Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375F and continue baking for 30 up to 40 minutes.

If the crust starts getting too dark, you can remove the pie from the oven, shield the crust with tin foil (carefully cover crust with tin foil) and return. To the oven.

The crust should be golden brown and filling bubbly.

Let cool for at least 1 hour before slicing.