CHERRY PIE BITES

My picky-picky husband LOVES cherry pie, but for some reason, he gets overwhelmed with a whole pie, go figure!!  I think it is the whole "get out a plate and fork" thing, haha!!  So, I decided to take a cue from Shelby, over at Life and Loves of Grumpys Honeybunch . She recently posted some little blueberry tarts (which I made at Christmas and they were fantastic), so I decided to do them this time with cherry.

The result was perfect and hubby was so happy with his "grab and go" treats. It didn't take him long to put a mini-scoop of vanilla ice cream on his mini-pie (he used the melon baller...so funny).

CRUST

1/2 cup butter  (room temperature)
3 ounces cream cheese (room temperature)
1 cup flour

Mix with electric mixer (I use my stand mixer with paddle attachment) until you get a smooth dough. Wrap it in plastic and chill for about an hour.

FILLING

(1)  14½ ounce can tart pie cherries packed in water
3/4 cup granulated sugar (divided)
2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon corn starch
pinch of table salt
1/4 teaspoon almond extract (do not leave out)
1 teaspoon butter

Drain the cherries, reserving the liquid.  Put the liquid, 1/2 cup of the sugar, salt and the cornstarch in a heavy saucepan.  Bring to a boil (while stirring) and cook until it gets VERY thick. 

Remove from heat and stir in the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar, the drained cherries, the almond extract and butter. Stir until the butter is melted, then cool the filling.

Preheat oven to 375 and spray a mini-muffin tin with vegetable cooking spray.  Cut the chilled dough into 24 pieces and roll them into a ball and place in the prepared mini-muffin tin.

Now, you have to use your fingers and spread the dough across the bottom and up the sides of each mini-muffin space.  Better yet, if you have tart tamper or something similar, this step will go MUCH faster.  I use the rounded end of the wooden tool that came with my Kitchen Aid meat grinder, it works absolutely perfectly. Try and get the crust just a little taller than the edges of each muffin space (this helps keep the pie juices from dripping over (see photo).

Fill each of the little dough cups with some cooled cherry pie filling. It usually takes 3-4 cherries and just a "dab" of  the "goo?"  Don't overfill.

Bake at 375 for 25 to 30 minutes on the TOP RACK of your oven.   When the edge of the crust is light golden brown, they are done.  Let them sit in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes before removing them to a rack.

Delicious!!

CHERRY COFFEE CAKE

This coffee cake goes together in just a few minutes and it is tasty enough for company (especially served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream). We couldn't leave it alone!!

 

2 cups all purpose flour ½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup butter (room temperature)
1 cup of milk
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
(nope!! no eggs)

Put all of the above ingredients into an electric mixer and beat on high for two minutes. Spread evenly in a greased 9" x 13" baking pan and set aside.

(2) 14 ounce cans pitted tart pie cherries (save the juice)
½ cup of granulated sugar
1¼ cups reserved juice from the pie cherries
½ teaspoon almond extract

Drain the cherries, saving the juice.  Arrange the cherries on top of the cake batter.  Sprinkle ½ cup of granulated sugar over the cherries. Set aside. NOTE: Do NOT use cherry pie filling!!!

Heat 1¼ cups of the reserved cherry juice until it comes to a simmer and then VERY GENTLY spoon the hot juice over the cherries and batter.  Bake at 375 for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Do not remove the cake from the pan (so use a nice looking pan).

Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.

SUPER EASY CHERRY STRUDEL

This strudel is made with Pepperidge Farm Puff Pasty (from the freezer section) and it couldn't be easier. It slices beautifully and it is delicious served warm with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream, but it is also excellent at room temperature. It is a huge hit at our house!!

1 sheet of frozen puff pastry (thawed)
(1) 14½ oz. can red tart pie cherries packed in water
¾ cup granulated sugar (divided)
2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon corn starch
pinch of salt
¼ teaspoon almond extract
2 drops red food coloring (optional)

Drain the cherries (but save the juice).  Mix ½ cup of the juice from the cherries, with half of the sugar and all of the cornstarch and a pinch of salt.

Cook (constantly stirring) the juice mixture on medium heat for 3 or 4 minutes or until it gets ULTRA thick.  Remove from heat and stir in the rest of the sugar, the drained cherries and almond extract. Mix well and lay some plastic wrap on the surface of the hot mixture and chill for an hour (or until really cold).

CRUST
You can either let one sheet of puff pastry (a box comes with 2 sheets) thaw in the refrigerator overnight (thats the best) or you can speed thaw on the kitchen counter (I wrap it in plastic wrap) for about an hour. The box says 40 minutes, but it really is a lot easier to work with if you let it sit for an hour.

Dust your counter with a little flour and roll out the dough to a 12" x 16" rectangle.  Spread the cherry filling on one half (keep it about an inch away from the sides) like this:

Starting with the fruit end, just roll it up and crimp the ends.  Lay it on a parchment paper lined baking sheet (or spray with vegetable spray). and brush it all over with egg wash (1 egg beaten with a teaspoon of water). Sprinkle generously with granulated sugar and then cut a few slash marks across the top of the strudel (for venting) but don't cut too deep.

Bake in preheated 375 oven for 35 minutes, or until golden brown.  Makes one 12" strudel. Enjoy!!

NOTE: For those who aren't familiar with it, Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry is found in the freezer section of your grocery store, near the Cool Whip etc., it comes in a 17.3 ounce package that contains 2 sheets.

CHRISTMAS FRUIT LADDER

I make this fruit ladder every Christmas. It is super simple, fast, looks impressive on any dinner table and is delicious. The dough works beautifully, is very forgiving and never fails!! You can make this ladder with any pre-cooked fruit filling (home made or commercial).

I have had a a few people tell me this looks hard to make, but trust me, it is not. There is just one little trick: roll the dough out into a rectangle and then move it to your baking sheet BEFORE you try to make the ladder. You can't move the ladder (and keep it's shape) after it is filled. The great dough is the real secret to this recipe.

Preheat oven to 350°

1 cup butter softened
1 cup sour cream
2 cups flour

Mix ingredients with an electric mixer (the dough will be a little sticky before it is chilled). Divide dough in half (this recipe makes TWO ladders). Put each ball of dough in some plastic wrap and rough it into a large disk shape…cover well and refrigerate 1 hour (extremely important). After an hour, remove from fridge & flour your counter & rolling pin. Roll one of the disks into a rectangle about 15” x 10”. Pick up the crust rectangle (it will not break) and lay it on a lightly greased baking sheet.
Now I could describe, at length how to do this next step, but a picture will describe it much quicker:

Find the center of your crust rectangle, and spread your fruit filling in a 3” wide strip, long-wise, right down the center of the rectangle (keep the fruit about an inch away from each end of the ladder). Each ladder will take ½ can of commercial fruit filling.

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Cut the dough, on both sides of the fruit, into equal strips, but be sure you stay about an inch away from the fruit filling. One at a time, pull the strips back over the fruit in a criss-cross fashion (the strips just lay on top of each other, don't crimp). The only part that is crimped is the very first strip (on each end of the ladder), it should be pinched together.

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Bake the fruit ladder for 30-40 minutes (in a preheated 350 degree oven) or until lightly golden. Run a spatula under the ladder to make sure it is loose, and then slide it off onto a serving plate. Drizzle it with a simple powdered sugar glaze and decorate with nuts (I like candied nuts), sprinkles, or any decoration you like.

I have tried lots of different fruits, cherry, lemon, raspberry, blueberry, apple strawberry, blackberry, etc. Commercial pie filling works as well as home made.

DARK CHERRY STREUSEL BARS

In mid-June, Tried and True Yummy Recipes posted a great recipe for Apple Streusel Bars. I tried it with a bag of frozen dark sweet cherries and it was a big hit! It really is a delicious recipe, but you will need a napkin and a big glass of milk!!

Pastry:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup COLD butter (no substitute)
1 egg, beaten
1 cup pecan pieces (add to the reserved crumbs only)

Fruit Filling:
16 ounce bag frozen dark sweet cherries
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract (do not leave out)

Glaze:
2 tablespoon butter melted
2 cups powdered sugar
3-4 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract (do not leave out)


Put the first 4 ingredients into your food processor; cube and add the butter. Pulse until you get pea-sized crumbs, then add egg and mix well.

Grease a 9" x 13" baking pan and pat two thirds of your crust mixture into the bottom of the pan, set aside. To the remaining one third of the crumbs, add one cup of pecan pieces and set aside.

Chop the cherries into medium small pieces (chop in the food processor while the berries are still frozen, this will help the berries from turning into mush). Mix cherries, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 cup flour in medium sauce pan and stir & cook just until thick. Remove from heat and add extracts.

Pour fruit filling over crumb crust and sprinkle the reserved one third of the crumb-pecan mixture evenly over the top. Bake in PREHEATED 350 oven for 40 minutes.

While bars are still a little warm, mix 2 tablespoons melted butter with 2 cups powdered sugar, about 3 or 4 tablespoons of milk and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract. Whisk until smooth and drizzle over fruit bars.
NOTE: Tried and True Yummy Recipe's version of this bar was made with apples, for her recipe, please click on this link.

SWEET DARK CHERRY PUDDING CAKE

I WISH I COULD UPLOAD THE SWEET AROMA OF THIS CAKE!!

When I look through recipes, I am always searching for that “little something” that tells me THIS one deserves a second look. Whether it is a unique ingredient or a non-traditional technique…it’s like a light comes on and you know you have to try it. This is one of those recipes. The descriptive title caught my eye first, then the recipe called for a simple batter, topped with frozen fruit and a cup of boiling water…need I say more? The result was delicious and something I would definitely serve to guests.

Today, hubby and a couple friends were out in the garage (doing guy stuff with their snow machines), so I thought it would be a great opportunity to use them as taste testers. The recipe went together like a dream (no electric mixer required) and the guys consumed the entire pan in just minutes and all gave it enthusiastic thumbs up.

1 cup all purpose flour
¾ cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup milk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups frozen pitted dark sweet cherries
1 cup brown sugar packed
1 teaspoon cinnamon (do not leave this out)
1 cup boiling water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Preheat oven to 350°. Combine the flour, white sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl (stir to mix). Stir in milk and vegetable oil, just until smooth (do not over mix). Spread batter into un-greased 8” x 8” baking dish. Cut frozen cherries in half and lay on top of batter. It’s a lot of fruit…

Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over cherries. Stir lemon juice into one cup of boiling water and SLOWLY drizzle the lemon water over the brown sugar (evenly). Bake 55 to 60 minutes or until a wooden pick comes out clean.

This cake will not cut like a traditional cake because the boiling water finds its way under the batter and makes a fabulous sweet sauce that the batter sort of “floats” on as it bakes (sounds weird, but it works). That’s why you HAVE to do the toothpick test (for doneness) in the very center of the cake (as opposed to the edge). I ended up scooping out portions of cake (rather than slicing it) and then spooned the sauce over it and topped it with ice cream.

Click on this photo to enlarge and you can see the thick sauce (off to the left) that the cake makes.

NOTE: There are no eggs in this recipe.
NOTE: Do not thaw cherries. Make sure you use DARK SWEET FROZEN CHERRIES. You will find them in one pound bags in the same place as frozen strawberries & frozen puff pastry.
NOTE: When you cut the cherries in half, watch for any pits.
NOTE: Serve this about 20-30 minutes after you take it out of the oven (to give the sauce a few minutes to thicken a little).
NOTE: If you serve this cake warm...ice cream is MANDATORY !!!
NOTE: Cake is excellent at room temperature too.

CHERRY PIE with NO ROLL CRUST

Most of my pies turn out ok, however, I’ve never had much luck with cherry pies. I don’t know how many bad cherry pies I've made over the years, (lets just say a lot). Either they had too much thickener (and the pie tasted starchy and looked cloudy) or the pie filling turned out soupy (not enough thickener). Well, that was before I discovered tapioca as a pie thickener for my cherry pies. Don’t worry, you will NOT taste or see the tapioca; it just gives you a delicious bright red, non-starchy, non-soupy, cherry pie!

This no-roll pie crust is flaky, tender, delicious and surprisingly easy. It makes (1) 2 crust pie or (2) single pie shells. The recipe calls for the dough to be pressed into a 9” pie pan, but I ended up rolling it like a regular pie dough. It is easier to tear than a regular pie dough, but it isn’t a problem since you just pinch the tears shut. This is an excellent pie crust for pies that require only a bottom crust, like pumpkin, pecan or cream pies.
STEP ONE - CRUST
In large electric mixer bowl, mix 2 cups flour (spoon into cup and level off), 1 cup butter flavored Crisco, 2 teaspoons sugar and ½ teaspoon of salt. Mix until crumbly. While mixer is running, add ¼ cup ice water, 2 tablespoons of beaten egg and 1 ½ teaspoons white vinegar. Beat until dough forms a ball. Cut dough ball in half and pat half of dough into a 9” pie pan. Add filling and top with other half of dough.
STEP TWO - CHERRY FILLING
(2) 14 ounce cans of tart pie cherries (packed in water) and drained
1 ¼ cups white sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
¼ teaspoon almond extract (it really boosts the cherry taste)
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons of quick cooking tapioca
Mix DRAINED cherries, tapioca, sugar, lemon juice and extract in a bowl and let it stand for 15 minutes. Pour filling into pie crust and cover with top crust. Pinch edges shut and brush top crust surface with a little beaten egg white and dust with granulated sugar. Cut vent holes in top of crust. Bake in PREHEATED 450° oven for 10 minutes, then change dial to 350° and bake another 45 minutes. Cool on rack.
NOTE: Put a cookie sheet under your pie pan in case your filling tries to bubble over. It shouldn’t, but it will save you a lot of oven clean up just in case.

NOTE: CHERRY CRISP TOPPING (instead of top crust)

Mix 2/3 cup brown sugar + 1/2 cup flour + 1/2 cup oats + 1/2 tsp cinnamon + 1/3 cup soft butter. Mix it all together and sprinkle over pie filling. Same baking directions as above.

NOTE: You can also roll out the top crust and then use a cookie cutter or biscuit cutter and cut out shapes and arrange them in a design on top of the fruit before baking.