Not only is homemade cherry pie filling better than any canned variety you will find available at your local market, but it is also as easy as pie to make. You’ll just need some fresh cherries and a few simple ingredients.
Summer is here y’all and it’s totally winning my heart over, so much so, that I find myself in need of a summer vacation. Now, I’m not talking about a week at the beach, a trip to the bug and critter-infested lake, or even an impromptu plane ride to someplace humid and tropical, although all of those options do sound lovely. Nope, I’m talking about a real, Heavens to Betsy, all summer long three-month vacation, like back when we were naive, unappreciative, and totally under the assumption that we would stay young forever, believing that the hot summer days of absolutely nothing to do but hang out by the pool would totally last a lifetime.
I want those long, lazy, hazy days of summer back y’all. Three months without having to drag my butt into work every morning; a vacation from everyday life and the opportunity to spend each and every day doing absolutely nothing, preferably with a book in one hand and a cold, frosty, sweet tropical drink in the other. Heck, I’m even willing to give up one day of pure luxurious nothingness in exchange for one day of cherry pickin’ in the country. Not because I find cherry pickin’ to be a relaxing hobby, nope, only so that I can spend a few of my relaxing summer evenings enjoying cherry pie, homemade cherry ice cream, and maybe even just a few of those red luscious globes of sweetness straight up in all of their glory.
Too bad I’m stuck here dreaming about this whole three-month-long vacation thing until my winning lotto ticket mysteriously shows up to change things for the better. Until then, I’ll have to settle for one measly little week at the beach, a few weekend days spent lounging in the sun on our back deck, and possibly a couple of hot and humid nights by our outside fire pit meticulously roasting marshmallows until they have reached the perfect shade of golden brown. I’ll also have to pretend that the cherries I purchased at a local farmstand will last forever as well because all too soon, the homemade cherry pies and ice cream will be but a fleeting memory, and the price of cherries per pound will be somewhere equivalent to the price of a new vehicle yet again.
Moral of the story? Enjoy each and every summer moment you find within your grasp, it will be over before you know it. The lightning bugs will disappear, the leaves will begin to slowly tumble to the earth, and the school buses will sadly reappear again on your agonizing car ride to work each morning. The thought of lounging poolside for an entire day in the sun will be but a memory, the idea of hanging out all day in the air conditioning reading a book will seem ludicrous, and the opportunity of even being able to afford to make a fresh cherry pie will be but a dream. So, get out there and soak up as much sun as you can, buy up all of the sweet, ripe, gorgeous summer cherries you can get your hands on, and spend each and every night being thankful for the gorgeous summer weather and the opportunity to indulge in a big ol’ slice of fresh cherry pie.
Ingredients:
- 6 Cups Fresh Bing Cherries, Pitted
- 2/3 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1/2 Cup Water
- Juice of 1 Lemon
- 4 Tablespoons Corn Starch
- 1/8 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
Directions:
- Place all of the ingredients into a saucepan over high heat; cook 3 minutes stirring constantly.
- Reduce the heat to low and continue to cook for 10 minutes, stirring often.
- Allow to cool to room temperature and then refrigerate the pie filling in an airtight glass container until use.
Suggestions:
- I halved each cherry in this recipe to ensure that all of the pits had indeed been removed. You can leave the cherries whole if you choose, just make sure to remove all of the pits.
- I would suggest wearing dark or black clothing when pitting cherries. That way, if you get any cherry juice on you, it won’t stain your clothing.
- This recipe will yield more than enough filling for one large pie or several small tarts.
Improvements:
- Stir 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract into the cherry pie filling after it has finished cooking.
- Serve this pie filling over Buttermilk Vanilla Ice Cream and then either garnish it with shaved chocolate or crumbled shortbread cookies.
- Use this pie filling to make this Blended Cherry Chocolate Chip Ice Cream.
Ingredients:
- 6 Cups Fresh Bing Cherries, Pitted
- 2/3 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1/2 Cup Water
- Juice of 1 Lemon
- 4 Tablespoons Corn Starch
- 1/8 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
Directions:
- Place all of the ingredients into a saucepan over high heat; cook 3 minutes stirring constantly.
- Reduce the heat to low and continue to cook for 10 minutes, stirring often.
- Allow to cool to room temperature and then refrigerate the pie filling in an airtight glass container until use.
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