Mom's Cherry Pie

This was a summertime family favorite. Cherries ripen in May and I loved to pick them, eating almost as many as I saved. But pitting was and still is the pits. But don't forget the ice cream or frozen yogurt. The cherries are tart so the ice cream adds just the right balance to create a great combination of flavors.

Serves 8
Prep time: 10 minutes (not including the pitting time)
Total time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

1 pie crust recipe

2 cups tart cherries, pitted with juice (about 1 cup)

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoon cold water to make a slurry

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place crust into pie plate and refrigerate.
Combine cherries, juice and sugar in a medium saucepan and heat on medium high heat until bubbling. Stir in cornstarch slurry. Turn to medium heat and cook until thickened. Stir in lemon juice and butter. Remove from heat. Pour into pie shell and cook in oven until crust is golden about 25 minutes.

Terri's Tips:

If you don't have enough cherry juice add a little water

Always stir cornstarch into cold water. Add the slurry to hot liquids. Cook until thickened and don't overcook it will break down

Serve with cinnamon cream, ice cream, or frozen yogurt

Cooking Wiser:

Serve with low fat frozen whipped topping

Reduce sugar by half and use 1 cup apple juice. If it is too tart for you, remember that you can sweeten it with a little low fat whipped topping or my Healthy Dessert Topping
To save time you can use refrigerated pie crust but it won't be as good.