DIY Cherry Pie Filling
You seeing a pattern here? Once a year for six weeks we go bananas for cherries. I loath the canned cherry pie filling that’s mostly starch and sugar and love making batch after batch of this to freeze and get my cherry fix on in the winter. Frozen fruit works, too, as does a mixture of fresh and frozen. The finished filling lasts a week in the fridge and months in the freezer. If you’re lucky enough to live in Southern California, check out our favorite cherry supplier here. This recipe will make enough for two 8″ to 9″ pies. Check out our master pie dough recipe here.
Ingredients
- 2 lb cherries pitted
- 1 tbsp lemon juice pitted
- 1/4 cup water omit if you are using frozen fruit
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup sugar
Thickener
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup flour
Instructions
- Bring the cherries to a boil with the water, salt, lemon juice and sugar.
- While boiling, stir the thickener water and flour together until a waffle-batter like paste forms, adding a touch of water or flour to get the consistency right. Start by pouring half of this slurry into your cherries and stir with a wooden spoon, adding more only if needed to get the cherries and juices nice and thick.
- Pour out your cherry pie filling onto a cookie sheet to cool quickly. Keep cold for best results (pie crusts don't like warm fillings)!
