Homemade Cherry Sauce
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Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cold water
a 10 ounce bag frozen cherries, no need to defrost them
1/3 cup granulated sugar, or 1/4 cup if less sweetener is desired
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
a pinch of fine sea salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Make the sauce:
In a small bowl, stir the cold water and the cornstarch together to combine, and set aside.
In a medium-size heavy bottomed pot, add the frozen cherries, sugar, lemon juice and salt.
Bring to a boil, and then turn down the heat to medium. The cherries will release their juices and bubble. Cook for 4-6 minutes until the juices have thickened slightly. Re-stir the cornstarch and add to the pot. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly until the juices turn clear and thicken. Continue to boil and stir for about another minute.
Remove the pot from the stove and stir in the vanilla. Let cool.
Serve warm or at room temperature. Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to a week.
Makes about 1 1/2 cups. YUM!
LESSONS Learned:
1. Make sure you look at the package size. They come in either 10 or 12 ounce sizes. If you have the larger size, add an extra 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch and maybe another 1-2 Tablespoons sugar.
2. I have only made this sauce with frozen cherries, but you could substitute about 2 cups of fresh stemmed and pitted cherries. Just be aware, that depending on the season, they may require a little extra sweetener.
3. If you prefer a less sweet sauce, feel free to cut back on the sugar 1-2 Tablespoons.
4. This sauce uses cornstarch as a thickener, which means it won't freeze well. If you might be making a lot and/or want to freeze the sauce, then replace the cornstarch with arrowroot powder.
5. To switch up the flavor a little, you could add a drop of almond extract along with the vanilla.