Yet, the siren call of the cherry weakened my resolve this year, and I impulse-bought a box of bing cherries from Azure Standard.
(Which I promptly forgot about until the Azure truck delivered them, in the middle of fair week, no less.)
And once again, I found myself staring down the barrel of 25 pounds of cherry chaos (this has happened to me before).
They were getting soft and since there was no way we’d be able to eat them all before they went bad, I decided to turn them into pie filling.
However, when I googled “homemade cherry pie filling recipes” I was disappointed with the results.
Not a single recipe had all the components I was looking for:
I wanted to use my sweet cherries, with honey as the sweetener, AND I wanted to make more than 2 pints (I’m sorry, but who on earth goes to all the trouble of canning for only 2 pints?!)
So naturally, I decided to create my own recipe.
I used the USU Extension cherry canning guidelines for safety, but made a few of my own tweaks. Thankfully, switching up sweeteners doesn’t affect the safety of a recipe so I was able to use honey easily here.
I’ll share my recipe in a sec, but a few important notes first:
I have this cherry pitter. And I wish I didn’t… because it made me say a lot of bad words last week. Not to mention, I have war wounds all over my hands from where I smashed my fingers in the plunger. It’s cheap and you absolutely get what you pay for. I don’t recommend it.
Unfortunately, I don’t have many other solid recommendations at this point. If you don’t have a pitter, you can use a bobby pin or a metal straw to push the pits out of the cherries. Yes, this is also mind-numbing. If you’re committed to canning cherries, plan on at least a couple hours of pitting (maybe less if you have help). It’s unfortunately unavoidable, which is why I only can cherries every few years (check out my honey-sweetened canned cherries recipe here).
In a canning recipe like this one, it’s easy to swap sweeteners for two reasons:
1. The fruit is already acidic, so the sweetener isn’t affecting the safety of the recipe.
2. Unlike jam, we don’t need the sugar to interact with the thickening agent. (If you swap honey for sugar willy-nilly in a jam recipe without using special pectin, you’ll have issues with the jam setting.)
While a canning recipe like this one with its high heat will negate benefits of raw honey, I still like using honey since it allows me to use less sugar.
You bet! I personally like using sweet cherries since I don’t have to add as much sweetener to the recipe, but it’s a personal preference. If you use sour cherries, you’ll need to add more sweetener, so be sure to taste the filling before you jar it.
Clear Jel is an alternative to regular cornstarch and it is important in canned pie filling for two reasons:
1. Other thickeners, like cornstarch, tend to clump during processing and may prevent heat from fully penetrating the jars. This can cause the filling to develop bacteria and spoil.
2. Cornstarch can break down during the cooking process and doesn’t thicken as well.
I had an aversion to buying Clear Jel for years and therefore never made home-canned pie fillings. However, I’d then find myself buying filling at the grocery store when I was in a pinch, and that makes zero sense.
So a couple years ago I bought a container of Clear Jel and haven’t looked back. It’s one of those compromises that makes sense for me. (I have no desire to be a purist, nor do I think that’s even possible.)
If you want to use cornstarch in home canned pie fillings, do so at your own risk. You’ll also probably have to find another recipe, as this one is definitely written specifically for Clear Jel. (Clear Jel is different than Sure-Jell which is pectin for jam making.)
So just remember- if you’re still very adverse to Clear Jel, just use cornstarch and freeze the fillings instead.
Once upon a time, we all had one option for canning lids. However, the Great Canning Lid Shortage of 2020 changed that, and now we have a myriad of options.
There are a number of companies out there, but I’ve been using For Jars lids for 3+ years now and I adore them. I know the owners personally and their lids are fantastic with great seal rates. Check out For Jars canning lids and equipment here.
Now, on to the cherry pie filling recipe!
Ingredients:
Instructions:
1. Combine the water, honey, Clear Jel, and cinnamon (if using) in a large pot and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Add the lemon juice and once it returns to a boil, let boil for one minute. Add the cherries all at once. (If it gets weird or clumpy at any point, just keep heating and stirring!) Bring the mixture back to a boil, stirring the whole time.
2. Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla extract (if using).
3. Ladle the hot cherry pie filling into hot, sterilized quart jars. Leave one-inch headspace.
4. Wipe the rims and affix lids and rings.
5. Process quarts for 40 minutes in a water bath canner (make adjustments for altitude, if needed). (If you decide to use pint jars instead, process them for the same amount of time.)
6. Once processing time is complete, remove the jars from the canner. Check for seals and remove the rings for storage. It’s common for thick, sticky fillings to bubble over in the canner, so don’t worry if your jars are messy when you pull them out. As long as the lids are sealed, you’re ok. Wipe off any residue and you’ll good to go.
– Make a Pie: One quart-jar of cherry pie filling should fill one 9-inch pie plate. Here’s my homemade pie crust recipe that uses butter and/or lard. You’ll need a double crust for a cherry pie (I like to do a classic lattice top.) Bake your pie at 400 degrees F for 40 minutes, or until filling is bubbly and crust is golden brown.
– Spoon the cherry pie filling over ice cream.
– Or, drizzle it over the top of cheesecakes.
– If you’re using tart or sour pie cherries, you may need to increase the sweetener by several cups. The original recipe called for 7 cups of sugar (!!). Honey tends to be sweeter than sugar, which allowed me to reduce my quantities a bit, plus my dark sweet cherries helped too.
– You can use almond extract instead of vanilla if you prefer.
– My honey/Clear Jel mixture looked super wonky for a while when it was coming together in the pot. Just keep stirring. The heat will help dissolve the clumps.
– You can use frozen cherries instead of fresh cherries in this recipe. Simply let them thaw before using. Reserve any cherry juice and use in place of some of the water for even more cherry flavor.
– Some recipes call for adding red food coloring, which I find completely unnecessary. Your filling will be a delicious dark red on its own.
If you are a canning newbie, my Canning Made Easy course is for you! I’ll walk you through each step of the process (safety is my #1 priority), so you can learn to can confidently, without the stress. CLICK HERE to have a look at the course and ALL the bonuses that come with it.
This is the information I wish I had when I first started canning. All of the recipes and safety information are double and triple-checked and we cover water bath and pressure canning.
It’s the next best thing to you coming over to my house and canning right along with me.
A canning recipe for cherry pie filling that is sweetened with honey.
How to Use the Cherry Pie Filling:
– Make a Pie: One quart-jar of cherry pie filling should fill one 9-inch pie plate. Here’s my homemade pie crust recipe that uses butter and/or lard. You’ll need a double crust for a cherry pie (I like to do a classic lattice top.) Bake your pie at 400 degrees F for 40 minutes, or until filling is bubbly and crust is golden brown.
– Spoon the cherry pie filling over ice cream.
– Or, drizzle it over the top of cheesecakes.
More Kitchen Notes:
– If you’re using tart or sour pie cherries, you may need to increase the sweetener by several cups. The original recipe called for 7 cups of sugar (!!). Honey tends to be sweeter than sugar, which allowed me to reduce my quantities a bit, plus my dark sweet cherries helped too.
– You can use almond extract instead of vanilla if you prefer.
– My honey/Clear Jel mixture looked super wonky for a while when it was coming together in the pot. Just keep stirring. The heat will help dissolve the clumps.
– You can use frozen cherries instead of fresh cherries in this recipe. Simply let them thaw before using. Reserve any cherry juice and use in place of some of the water for even more cherry flavor.
– Some recipes call for adding red food coloring, which I find completely unnecessary. Your filling will be a delicious dark red on its own.
