HOW TO MAKE A CHERRY PIE FILLING

Sharing an easy recipe on how to make a homemade cherry pie filling with fresh cherries from the Northwest.

Apparently, cherry pie filling doesn’t have to come from a can. Until this summer my cherry desserts required a can opener.

But with a box full of cherries, compliments of Northwest Cherries I decided it was time to step up my game and figure out how to make homemade cherry pie filling.

HOW TO MAKE CHERRY PIE FILLING

INGREDIENTS

The ingredients for this pie filling include water, sugar, cornstarch and pitted cherries.

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 4 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2-3 pounds of pitted cherries

Making a cherry pie was a big deal for me. I was surprised at how fulfilling I felt making this recipe.

INSTRUCTIONS

In full disclosure, there is some work on the front end of this recipe. When I finished pitting the cherries, my cutting board looked like a scene from Dexter. After you have your pitted cherries follow the instructions below.

COMBINE ALL INGREDIENTS IN A LARGE SAUCEPAN.

BRING TO A BOIL AND REDUCE HEAT TO LOW.

STIR FREQUENTLY FOR ABOUT 10-12 MINUTES

COOL SLIGHTLY.

REFRIGERATE FOR UP TO A WEEK OR FOLLOW CANNING INSTRUCTIONS TO FREEZE.

Considering the amount of cherry splatter the clean up was easy and worth the effort for my first homemade pie filled with fresh cherries.

THE CRUST

To play it safe and manage my expectations I used a pre-packaged crust. I added a few star cutouts and I was pretty darn proud of myself.

I reminded myself it was just a pie. Or was it?

I was nervous about how my first cherry pie filling would taste. Would it be too sweet or too tart? Turns out it was just right.

My family devoured the pie and the compliments were legit!

Looking for more fresh cherry recipes? Check out this list.

**disclosure: I received Northwest Cherries for this post. But, I had no help with making this homemade cherry pie filling. ;0)

Check out my other cherry recipes

No Bake Cherry Crumble

Chocolate Cherry Dump Cake (so easy)