Drain the cherries, reserving the juice. Spread cherries on the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking pan.
Add 1 ½ cup sugar and cornstarch to a small saucepan. Stir in reserved cherry juice. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and stir for 1 to 2 minutes, until it thickens. Pour 1 ½ cups hot cherry sauce over the cherries in the baking pan. Set the rest of the sauce aside.
Dot the fruit in the baking pan with ¼ cup butter.
In a large bowl, sift together flour, ¼ cup sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in ½ cup plus 1 tbsp butter with a pastry cutter. Stir in milk. Spoon batter over the fruit. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon as desired.
Bake for 30 minutes or until the topping is golden brown.