Cherry Pie Filling
Cherry Pie Filling is a homemade pie filling that will be your go-to for all things cherry when it comes to desserts. No need to buy canned pie filling again! Use it to fill these Cherry Pie Bombs!
Cherry Pie Filling
Skip the canned pie fillings from now on and make your own homemade cherry pie filling. When you make your own, you know exactly what is going into it, making it a smart choice. And, it’s only five ingredients!
Ingredients
Cherries: Look for fresh sweet cherries like Rainier cherries. I will let you know how to pit the cherries with no special equipment.
Sugar: Granulated sugar is added to sweeten the pie filling.
Cornstarch: Cornstarch is added to water to make a slurry, which thickens the filling.
Lemon Juice: Lemon juice is needed to balance the sweetness of the filling. I prefer freshly squeezed, but you can use bottled in a pinch.
What Kind of Cherries to Use
First of all, look for fresh cherries to make this cherry pie filling. I prefer using sweet cherries like Rainier cherries, Bing cherries, or Chelan cherries, just to name a few.
Can I Use Frozen Cherries?
Yes! Frozen cherries would work fine in this recipe. Just make sure they are pitted. Now, you have no excuse not to make this pie filling any time of the year, even when cherries are not in season.
How to Pit Cherries Without Special Equipment
For best results, use fresh cherries that need to be pitted. To pit cherries, you could use a cherry pitter. However, there are a couple of other ways to pit cherries without that specific tool. If you can, use gloves as cherry juice can stain. Here are some techniques you could use:
Find a sturdy straw. Push the straw through the center of the cherry; the pit will come right out. You could also use a chopstick, skewer, or piping tip for this method. (This is the “prettiest” method if you want to see whole cherries in your filling.)Another method is the ‘peach pit’ method. This method involves a paring knife to cut around the cherry pit, cutting the cherry in half.
