Sour Cherry Recipes Sure to Make Your Summer Sweeter

Sour cherries are rounder, softer, and smaller than sweet cherries. Unlike sweet cherries, which can be eaten out of hand, sour cherries are best when sweetened and cooked. Try them in pies, cakes, cocktails, and more.

Sour Cherry Basics

In Season: Sour cherries have an exceptionally short season and are usually only available in June and July.

What to Look For: Choose cherries that are bright scarlet, plump, and firm; avoid bruised, soft ones and those with brown stems.

How to Store: Unwashed fruit should keep in your refrigerator for up to a week (wash right before eating, as water can cause the cherry to soften and split).

Sour cherries have a satisfying tartness and depth that their sweet counterparts can’t imitate, making them a classic choice for pies. Small holes cut into the top crust give a sneak peek of the delicious filling awaiting underneath.

Macerate sour cherries and fresh basil with simple syrup and lemon juice, then combine with vodka and sparkling water for the ultimate big-batch summer cocktail. Make a pitcher of our Blackberry-Plum Mojitos while you're at it!

With a blend of gin and rosé wine, this festive summer drink packs a real punch. Tart cherries liven up the mix.

We love the combination of sour cherry and rich, lightly sweetened vanilla cream in this gelee. It's as refreshing as it is elegant.

A cup of milk adds just the right amount of richness to this tart, refreshing summer treat.

Infusing vodka with sour cherries lets you savor the flavor year-round. Wash and dry a bunch of cherries; slash the bottom of each with the tip of a paring knife. Fill a resealable jar with them; top with vodka, fully submerging the fruit. Store in a cool, dark place for at least a month before taking a sip. The vodka will keep for up to a year.

Bourbon infused with tart cherries and a strip of orange zest makes a delicious cocktail base. Simply add seltzer or ginger ale or use it in our Sour Cherry Old-Fashioned.

This picnic-perfect handheld dessert combines tender buttermilk cake dotted with fresh sour cherries, topped with a sweet cinnamon-kissed crumble.

The perfect combination of tart and sweet, this familiar dessert -- crowned with an old-fashioned lattice crust -- evokes an era when every afternoon included pie and coffee.

Take your vanilla milk shake from plain to next-level by adding sour cherries to the mix and topping with shards of frozen root beer.

Our crisp has more than a pound and a half of pitted sour cherries crowned with a brown-sugar-kissed oat-and-pistachio topping for lots of crunch.

Take this classic French dessert for a summery spin by mounding plump sour cherries simmered in a sweet wine syrup on top of the airy, ring-shaped cakes.

The season for sour cherries is short, but with this preserve recipe you can enjoy their tart flavor year-round.