Homemade Cherry Pie Filling

by Jamie on May 30, 2011

Post image for Homemade Cherry Pie Filling

I’m on a pretty serious cherry kick, meaning I have a bag on hand at all times. And although eating them by the fistful is certainly satisfying, I’ve decided to use this gorgeous summer fruit for more than just snacking.

First I made Frozen Cherry Mojitos that were knock your socks off good and I then I got the hankering for cherry pie. But anyone who knows me well, knows that I have an adverse reaction to anything cherry flavored.

Cherry flavoring or perhaps the red dye, makes me cough like crazy which then triggers a sneezing fit, like 15 sneezes in a row…I kinda like to sneeze though. Anyway, canned cherry pie filling is pretty much out of the question. I have the same reaction to banana and green apple flavored things as well. Weird, I know.

I set out to turn the huge bag of cherries that I purchased into a homemade cherry pie filling. I used a recipe from About.com as a guide, but of course threw in a couple of extra ingredients to create an incredible cherry pie filling that left me super happy and free of any crazy coughing fits.

Stay tuned in coming weeks to see what deliciousness I have in store for you using this simple homemade cherry pie filling recipe.

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Homemade Cherry Pie Filling

Ingredients:

5 to 6 cups fresh pitted cherries, about 2 1/2 to 3 pounds ( I used Bing)
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2/3 cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Directions:

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine cherries, water, lemon juice, sugar and cornstarch. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and cook, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes. Stir in almond extract. Cool slightly before using as a topping.

Notes:

- If using sour cherries, you will need to adjust the amount of sugar. I’d recommend starting about ¾ cup and working your way up if more sweetness is needed.
- Refrigerate leftover fresh cherry pie filling in a sealed container for up to 2 days.
- I have not tried freezing this cherry pie filling, but if you do, please let me know.
- Recipe adapted from about.com

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{ 79 comments… read them below or add one }

avatar 1 Courtney May 30, 2011 at 12:33 pm

Looks delicious, can’t wait to see what you baked up with it!

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avatar 2 Barbara @ Barbara Bakes May 30, 2011 at 12:48 pm

Cherries are a favorite at our house too. Hopefully, I can pick up a bag at the farmer’s markets and give this a try soon.

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avatar 3 apron Appeal May 30, 2011 at 12:57 pm

Our cherries aren’t ripe yet, but I’m stock piling recipes so I’m ready when they are.

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avatar 4 Maris (IN Good Taste) May 30, 2011 at 1:28 pm

I can’t wait to see what else you have planned. I love cherries and they are so healthy

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avatar 5 Richard Haber May 30, 2011 at 1:29 pm

Perfect timing, now I know what to do with the bunch of cherries we bought yesterday…cherry tarts!

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avatar 6 Marie Baars May 30, 2011 at 1:41 pm

Ohh I really want to try this! Cherries wont be ready here for at least another 2 months haha. I am hoping to try canning cherry pie filling this summer. I think I will use this recipe as a starting point!

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avatar 7 Mellie May 30, 2011 at 2:36 pm

Yum! I love cherries.

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avatar 8 Hannah at FleurDeLicious May 30, 2011 at 4:31 pm

Hooray! Cherry pie is my favorite kind of pie, and I love that you made the filling by itself in its own jar. Great idea :) Can’t wait to see what you make!

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avatar 9 Heather May 30, 2011 at 6:55 pm

I can’t wait to make this!

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avatar 10 Dianna @ The Kitchen Prep May 30, 2011 at 7:13 pm

I almost used the exact same recipe for some Mini Cherry Pies on a Stick I made yesterday, but ended up using one from Taste of Home instead. Do you know that it actually called for red food coloring?!?! Absurd! I omitted it, of course, because what is the point of making homemade pie filling and adding that yuckiness?! :) I also ended up having to use frozen cherries because I wasn’t able to make it to whole foods and had to pick some up at a grocery store that didn’t have any. Anyway, cheers to cherries! ;)

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avatar 11 Jaime {sophistimom} May 30, 2011 at 7:22 pm

Beautiful, Jamie. I have a freezer full of tart cherries right now . . .

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avatar 12 Yuri May 30, 2011 at 7:35 pm

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing this recipe, I can’t wait to see how you use it :)

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avatar 13 Jeanne in Toledo May 30, 2011 at 8:15 pm

This makes me SOOOO happy! I have been struggling with the cherry pie thing because I have a killer recipe for cherry pie but I want to adapt it to use in my Breville Pie Maker! I can’t use a recipe that is supposed to bake for 45 to 60 minutes in the piemaker – it only bakes the mini pies for 10 minutes – and I assumed I’d have to cook the filling on the stovetop for some time period. I have NO experience. Voila! You’ve given me a starting point!!!

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avatar 14 notyet100 May 30, 2011 at 10:50 pm

this looks so delicious,,,thnks for the recipe

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avatar 15 Debbie @The Hip Hostess May 31, 2011 at 12:48 am

You must be reading my mind, have been wanting to whip up a “Real” cherry pie this summer! Thanks a bowl of cherries for the how to & the recipe. Off to pick up a cherry pitter!

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avatar 16 Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen May 31, 2011 at 8:25 am

Although not allergic, I can’t stand banana and green apple flavored things, or anything fake flavored for that matter. My husband always teases me about that, he’s always asking me if things are “too fake flavored” for me when I say I don’t like something.

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avatar 17 Teri@thefreshmancook May 31, 2011 at 11:29 am

Thank you for such a great post. I also love anything cherry, but the canned cherries are not for me either. I think I’ll go pick up some fresh ones today, and give your recipe a try.

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avatar 18 Izzy May 31, 2011 at 12:19 pm

I am wondering if I can can this so I can enjoy year round? Does anyone know?
Thank you!

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avatar 19 liz January 19, 2013 at 10:19 am

Hi, I teach canning in my County and yes you can put this up, however, don’t add the cornstarch. So what you’d do is combine everything in your pan EXCEPT the cornstarch & extract, bring to a boil, put into prepared jars leaving 1/4″ head space, process in boiling water bath canner 10 min. (adjust to your altitude). Then when you’re ready to use a jar, place in a pan, add the cornstarch and continue with the recipe as if you’d never canned it. Please feel free to email me with any questions! :)

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avatar 20 Paula May 31, 2011 at 1:28 pm

Looking forward to your posts involving these cherries. Glad that you came up with a recipe that you can enjoy these beauties without having a reaction to them.

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avatar 21 Cookbook Queen May 31, 2011 at 1:55 pm

Cherry pie is one of my FAVORITES. I bet the almond extract really makes this filling extra good (I always think that almond extract has a cherry-ish smell/flavor)

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avatar 22 Happy When Not Hungry May 31, 2011 at 6:21 pm

Never would’ve thought to make my own cherry pie filling! Great recipe :-)

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avatar 23 mel tardy May 31, 2011 at 6:49 pm

so, without having a pitter…what’s the easiest way pit cherries?

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avatar 24 Kim June 27, 2012 at 1:30 pm

Though a year later I find this……..try a chopstick to push the pit out.

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avatar 25 Sandy August 10, 2012 at 10:21 pm

just use a drinking straw. Start at the stem end and poke it through. Just pitted 12 cups of cherries using a straw and it works!

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avatar 26 Savorique Gourmet May 31, 2011 at 7:26 pm

Wondering if I could use dark sweet cherries…

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avatar 27 Courtney May 28, 2012 at 10:18 am

Try increasing the amount of lemon juice

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avatar 28 Indrė June 1, 2011 at 2:58 am

Hi there,

how long can these preserve be kept in dark place?

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avatar 29 Jen @ My Kitchen Addiction June 1, 2011 at 4:32 pm

Lovely! I can’t wait until we find some fresh cherries at the farmer’s market… I will have to make this (or at least, get my husband to make it!).

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avatar 30 Shaina June 1, 2011 at 8:05 pm

Yum! I love fresh cherries and have a giant bag of them myself right now. Can’t wait to try this!

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avatar 31 Amanda June 2, 2011 at 10:51 am

You make everything so beautiful and attainable… great job!

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avatar 32 Karen June 2, 2011 at 12:08 pm

Thank you for this. I’ve always used sour cherries and can never find them when I’m looking. I will definately give this a go as it’s my husbands favourite pie. As for the filling, my sour cherry filling freezes very well and our recipes are very similar.

thanks, K

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avatar 33 Tracy June 3, 2011 at 1:04 pm

What a fabulous idea! I so have to find a way to can this so I can have it all year long!

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avatar 34 Tina June 3, 2011 at 10:39 pm

Someone asked if you could can this filling. As the recipe is written, no. However, if you replace the cornstarch with modified cornstarch, made from waxey maize (usually sold under the name clear-jel or therm-flo), the filling could be canned or frozen. The amount of starch must be reduced by 25%, because the modified starch has a higher thickening ability. I live in an area with a significant Amish population; since they can almost everything, clear-jel is readily available in my area (Central Pennsylvania). I know it can also be purchased online if it’s not available in your area.

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avatar 35 Rebecca February 25, 2012 at 11:50 am

Thanks for the canning variation. I’m so excited for summer!!

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avatar 36 Karen H. June 7, 2011 at 7:45 am

I live in a cherry belt and freeze sour cherries every summer. Ours come pitted in 10lb pails (with or without sugar). I purchase w/o sugar. I divide the pail into 4 cup containers, which is perfect for pies, and freeze them as is. When thawed in January (!!!) the top few are a bit brown but the ones underneath are perfect in colour. When you cook them up in a pie filling recipe (as above), the discoloured ones make no difference . Definately a must have if you like to freeze fruit to enjoy over the long winters!

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avatar 37 New Orleans Honey June 7, 2011 at 2:28 pm

Cherry and almond together again…sounds delish. Isn’t Amaretto liquer cherry/almond flavored? Humm. sounds great !

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avatar 38 One in a Brazilian June 16, 2011 at 8:35 pm

My husband LOVES cherry pie. I may have to make a pie for him for father’s day. Thanks for the recipe!

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avatar 39 Jeanie June 19, 2011 at 11:37 am

I made this last weekend. It was AMAZING! It took me back to when my great-grandma would make me cherry pie.Thank you!

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avatar 40 Jamie June 19, 2011 at 11:44 am

Jeanie–
I am so glad you enjoyed this!
–Jamie

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avatar 41 Diane June 25, 2011 at 3:57 pm

Wow. It’s been a while since I cooked up some cherry pie filling. I’m going to have to do that again. It’s delicious on top of a grahmcracker crust cheese cake.

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avatar 42 Diane June 25, 2011 at 3:59 pm

It’s been a while since I cooked up some cherry pie filling. I’m going to have to do that again. It’s delicious on top of a grahmcracker crust cheese cake.

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avatar 43 Val June 29, 2011 at 4:33 am

Cherry season has just arrived here and so far I’ve only been successful at eating them as is. I have been convincing myself all week that as delicious as they are on their own, I have to be sure to make at least one dessert with them. Looks like I’ll be making a cherry pie!

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avatar 44 The Picture Perfect Baker July 10, 2011 at 6:20 pm

Hi, the filling sounds amazing!!!! And I would definitely like to try it, but had a question first… MUST I cook this on top of the stove? Or would it cook down properly in a pie shell, as blueberries do? I’ve never tried to bake a cherry pie before, so I’m just wondering before I get started :o )

Thanks for your help.

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avatar 45 Jamie July 11, 2011 at 6:58 pm

Hi!
Personally I would cook them down first. I actually made cherry hand pies today and used this cherry pie filling as a base. Enjoy and thanks for stopping by!
–Jamie

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avatar 46 Sarah B @ Lemon Fire Brigade July 11, 2011 at 3:09 pm

Hi Jamie! Just came across your blog. So beautiful, you’re really good at this. I’m connecting with this post right now because of the spree I just went on for sour cherries at the farmer’s market this weekend. I haven’t made any pies yet this summer…and this seems like an amazing simple recipe to have around. Also, I like that you added some touches. Almond extract?? Mmm. I heard that if you grind up the pitts of cherries, the flavor is reminiscent of almonds. Cherry pit flour? Interesting. A batch of this in the fridge is probably great to spoon at, quick too. Thank you!

SB.

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avatar 47 Jamie July 11, 2011 at 6:55 pm

Sarah–
Thanks so much for stopping by and for your kind words! I just got done pitting a ton of cherries too! Very interesting about the pits! Enjoy your sour cherries!
–Jamie

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avatar 48 alex July 11, 2011 at 5:15 pm

Great picture :)

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avatar 49 Lauren July 14, 2011 at 7:12 pm

Funny enough, I just made my first ever cherry pie the other day, and I (like you) thought a canned filling just wouldn’t do, so I made the filling from scratch. It turned out pretty good for my first pie! But I do have a question for you: the recipe for the filling I made didn’t require boiling it down on stovetop (but it still turned out good). How would the filling differ if I boiled it down first? Thanks. :)

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avatar 50 Annalise August 1, 2011 at 5:32 pm

Jamie – what are your thoughts on using frozen cherries? (I HATE pitting cherries in bulk!!) :o ) Should I thaw them first? Or start from frozen??

Love this idea, by the way! Can’t wait to try it soon!!

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avatar 51 Jamie August 2, 2011 at 7:55 pm

Annalise-
I think it would be fine. I’d start with them frozen. Let me know how it goes. Thanks!
-Jamie

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avatar 52 Rebecca February 25, 2012 at 11:53 am

You should find a capable girl about 10-12 years old to pit for you. :)

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avatar 53 Rick August 11, 2011 at 4:21 pm

This SUCKS! no offense, but I followed it step by step and turned out extremely horrible. It was a complete waste of 5 cups of perfectly good cherries. It taste like poo and looks like cheeries in red water in a pan. I would never recomend this to a rat let alone a person. Waste of time.

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avatar 54 Jamie August 11, 2011 at 4:37 pm

Hi, Rick. I’m sorry it didn’t work for you. I know several others (including Jeannie who commented above you) have been able to replicate this with success. I have made this several times this season without incident, so I am uncertain how to troubleshoot this with you – mine has certainly never resembled sub-par watery cherry rat food.

-Jamie

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avatar 55 Mama O February 25, 2012 at 11:20 pm

Rick & Jamie

If you haven’t already tried this….this trick may help with the thickening…..Instead of adding the cornstarch directly to the pot with the cherries & sugar mix….try adding about 2-4 table spoons of hot water to 1/4 cup of cornstarch in a separate bowl….mix until water & cornstarch become smooth & make a paste….if it’s a little to thick to miz you may need to add a touch more hot water…it should be pasty but not too thick…this will help to thicken your filling….for some reason the cornstarch already mixed in hot water has a different reaction when added to the cherry & sugar mix…..Good luck..I hope this is a helpful tip…

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avatar 56 Sarah September 2, 2012 at 12:35 am

Mine looked like that for a little bit, but I added just a little bit more cornstarch and up-ed the amount of sweetener. Mine worked beautifully, even with subbing agave for the sugar…that is so weird…

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avatar 57 Jill August 22, 2011 at 12:03 pm

I am sure it is not the recipe, but most likely the person making the recipe that is the problem.

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avatar 58 Awesome Chef November 23, 2011 at 6:03 pm

Rick,if the recipe turned out like poo, OBVIOUSLY you didn’t foolow the recipe step by step!

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avatar 59 Jill Strasburg August 21, 2011 at 12:17 am

I can’t wait to make this. I love your site! I would love you to check out mine and become a follower! I just signed up to get your updates by email and I’m so excited! So check out the nummy little blog and see what you think! Thanks!
Jilly

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avatar 60 Melissa L August 31, 2011 at 8:31 am

I would eat this pie filling by the spoonful for breakfast!!!!

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avatar 61 sandra D September 9, 2011 at 4:47 pm

This is sooooo good! Thank you! I used this for homemade cherry pop tarts, and ice cream topping.
And, I’d like to add: there’s nothing weird about your body having an adverse reaction to chemicals!

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avatar 62 Ann P September 14, 2011 at 7:27 pm

I’ve always been frustrated with canned cherry pie filling, too! Even just plain pitted cherries in cans don’t taste fresh and wholesome to me, so I’m excited to buy a cherry pitter and make this asap! :) thanks!

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avatar 63 Jackie October 16, 2011 at 9:44 pm

I stumbled across this wonderful recipe. I love cherry pie but I do not care for the canned cherry pie filling. I can’t wait till next year to give this wonderful recipe a try. Thanks for sharing.

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avatar 64 Norajean January 24, 2012 at 10:14 am

Hi Jamie….I am looking for a good cherry pie filling…my husband canned them this summer and wants me to make him a pie but I can’t find a recipe using jarred cherries…could you help me with this?? I am sure I can improvise as I do with everything. I made him a peach pie from the spiced peaches he put up too. O Henry peaches are the best…let me know as soon as you can .PS am so surprised how many people did not know how well almond and cherry go together….thanks for your blog

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avatar 65 Jamie February 1, 2012 at 5:30 pm

Norajean-
Thanks so much for visiting. Unfortunately, I don’t have a recipe on MBA that uses jarred cherries, but I am guessing you can pretty much adapt any recipe and play around with the sugar and thickening agent. Sorry I am not more of a help.
-Jamie

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avatar 66 Barb Phillips February 2, 2012 at 7:15 pm

Just found your site via a Pinterest post, glad now that I dropped by. You recipes are fabulous but I am more amazed at your photography. Great job and I’ll be coming back to get further ideas.

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avatar 67 Sam April 9, 2012 at 10:30 pm

Hi, I just stumbled across this and wanted to share my tip for pitting cherries without buying a pitter: Just stick the round end of a bobby pin into the top after you pop the stem off. You should be able to wiggle the pit out pretty easily.

I know this from pitting thousands of cherries from my parents’ Montmorency cherry tree every summer. I adore cherry pie, and my mom’s recipe always had almond extract in it, too.

Lovely site!

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avatar 68 Mckinzy June 17, 2012 at 9:47 am

Thank you so much for the recipe and directions. I used sour cherries and it turned out fantastic! The only modification i made to the recipe, was that i used lime juice instead of lemon (i was all out of lemons). This Recipe is one for the book!

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avatar 69 Anita June 23, 2012 at 3:12 pm

I made this cherry pie for my father this past father’s day and it was a total hit! It was my first cherry pie, my husband helped by pitting two bags of fresh bing cherries. I realized once I had the cherries on the stove that I didn’t have corn starch on hand, so I used a quarter cup of instant tapioca instead. It came out perfectly! I will make it again and may use a little bit more almond extract (1/2 teaspoon instead of 1/4)….thank you so much for sharing, it is really a great recipe!

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avatar 70 Carrie July 9, 2012 at 2:52 pm

Great recipe! I added a little bit of cinnamon – only about 1/4 teaspoon or so – to give it a little “something.” I had absolutely no problems at all, it was easy and tasted delicious!

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avatar 71 Jamie July 12, 2012 at 2:41 pm

Carrie-
I’m glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for reporting back!
-Jamie

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avatar 72 Ami July 11, 2012 at 10:00 am

Stumbled upon your blog looking for cherry pie, right now in India we are getting cherries(yay), love them but no one has heard of cherry pie!!!! Its also raining so the cherry pie craving goes through the roof. Anyways to get that bright cherry color try beet water(boil beets in water and the water turns beautiful red) but don’t use more than a spoonful because it will add a beety flavor.

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avatar 73 Stephanie M July 26, 2012 at 10:28 am

Thank you for the recipe. It was so easy and delicious!!! I actually combined it with another pintrest recipe and made personal cherry pies. Everybody loved them.

I thought it was intersting how you talked about your food allergy to all things cherry. I was watching Rachael Ray and they were talking about additives in food. One was a red food coloring called cochineal extract. It is made from crushing up beetles. Yuck! They said it won’t hurt you unless you have an allergy. Anywho I just thought that it was interesting to hear after I had read your blog.

Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Stephanie

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avatar 74 netty August 17, 2012 at 1:14 pm

Absolutely awesome recipe, never made anything with cherries before this and I would recommend this recipe to everyone it is Amazing!!!! Thanks

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avatar 75 Jamie August 20, 2012 at 5:24 pm

Netty-
I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed the cherry pie filling recipe. Thanks so much for coming back and telling us your thoughts! Have a great day.
-Jamie

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avatar 76 Sarah September 2, 2012 at 12:32 am

I was a little skeptical about this recipe and I knew from the start that I was going to have to change a key ingredient. I am pre-diabetic and have been instructed to stay away from any type of refined sugar in favor of something with a better glycemic index. After looking around, I decided to try blue agave sweetener instead of sugar in this pie filling. It does require more for the same level of sweetness (about 3/4 a cup to a whole cup depending upon how sweet you like your cherry pie), but it works beautifully and is a huge favorite with my boyfriend and our friends over this weekend long party (Labor Day celebrations!).

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avatar 77 Jenifer November 22, 2012 at 11:45 am

OH MY GOODNESS! This is so good. I live overseas and don’t have canned cherry pie filling. So, I tried this for a cheesecake topping. IT IS SOOOOO GOOD! Thanks for the simple recipe.

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avatar 78 MBA November 24, 2012 at 7:52 pm

Jenifer-
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for stopping by and providing your feedback – have a great day!
-Jamie

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avatar 79 Kaitlin December 24, 2012 at 12:38 pm

I froze this this summer and I’m making the crust for a Christmas pie right now… Exciting!

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