Cherry “Danish”
We made these little pastries in cooking camp last week. The kids enjoyed making them and eating them. If you are a baker, you might balk at calling these Danish. They are not the traditional Danish we are used to. They are tasty, though, and easy to make. I call them pastries, although that seems a little vague. They are more like little biscuits, filled with fruit.
Mom always called them Danish. My Mom used to make a batch whenever she had unexpected guests. They are ready in no time. I used cherry pie filling in these, but you can use other fruit fillings or even make cheese Danish.
They are made with baking mix- like Jiffy Mix. I make my own mix and the recipe follows. You can prep them in the time it takes to preheat the oven. They bake for just a few minutes, so a batch made in no time at all.
Easy “Danish”
2 c. biscuit mix, like Bisquick or Jiffy Mix- I make my own.
2 T. sugar
1/2 c. butter
2/3 c. milk
Assorted preserves or pie fillings or even sweetened cream cheese or ricotta for cheese “Danish” I prefer pie filling over preserves because preserves melt a lot and tend to spill out during baking.
1/2 c. confectioner’s sugar
milk
Combine biscuit mix and sugar. Cut in butter. Stir in milk. Drop rounded tablespoonfuls on lightly greased baking sheet. Indent middle using spoon. Leave 2-3 inches in between, as they grow. Spoon preserves, or pie filling, into indents. Bake in 400 degree oven for 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Combine confectioner’s sugar with enough milk to make a runny glaze. Drizzle over cooled Danish. Makes 12.
Homemade Biscuit Mix
8 c. flour
1 c. powdered milk
1 c. powdered buttermilk
¼ c. baking powder
1 T. salt
1½ c. shortening- I like to use coconut oil- you can also use butter, but mixture needs to be kept in the fridge if you use butter. I keep mine in the fridge in hot weather if I use coconut oil.
In large bowl combine dry ingredients and mix well. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Store in a tightly-closed container and use it in 2-4 months. Makes 10 cups.
Cheesy Cherry Blueberry Coffee Cake
If you need a really special dessert for your next party or cookout, consider making this cheesy cherry-blueberry coffee cake. It is one of my favorite coffee cake recipes ever. The cake is not too sweet, and the combination of cream cheese, with the fruit reminds me of a cherry-blueberry blintz.
The streusal topping adds a nice little crunch.
It is fine served all on its own. You can also serve it with ice cream or whipped cream. You can also top with more blueberries and cherries.
While I think of this cake as a wonderful dessert, it can be served as a breakfast or brunch dish.
As if this weren’t enough- this cake freezes great. Who are we kidding? There won’t be any leftovers – but you could freeze them, if you had some.
So here is the recipe. Enjoy!!
Cheesy Cherry-Blueberry Coffee Cake
1 1/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter
2 eggs
2 1/4 c. flour
1 T. baking powder
1 t. salt
1 c. milk
1 c. fresh or frozen blueberries
1 c. pitted and coarsely chopped cherries
8 oz. cream cheese, cubed
1 t. grated lemon peel
Topping:
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. flour
1 t. grated lemon peel
2 T. butter
Preheat oven to 375. Grease and flour a 13×9 inch baking dish. Cream together sugar and butter until fluffy. Beat in eggs. Combine 2 cups of the flour with baking powder and salt and beat into batter alternately with the milk. Toss fruit with the remaining flour and fold into the batter along with the cheese and lemon rind. Pour batter into prepared pan. Combine sugar, flour and lemon peel for topping and cut in butter to resemble coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over batter and bake for about 45 minutes. Use toothpick to test for doneness. Serves 12.
Cherry Bombs
These little treats make a great addition to your 4th of July party. They are simple to make, with only three ingredients. You can make them in no time at all. It is a fun treat for kids to make, too.
Think of the cherry bombs as a type of candy. A simple, sweet treat that can be served just as they are. They can also be used to top a cake or other dessert. You can even garnish a cocktail with them. I did the same thing with strawberries, but “strawberry bombs” did not have the same ring to it.
To make the cherry bombs, you will need cherries, white chocolate and blue sugar. If you don’t have blue sugar, you can put granulated sugar in a bag, add a few drops of blue food coloring, seal the bag and shake it up. The sugar will turn blue. You could also use blue sprinkles.
Wash and dry off some large, sweet cherries. Melt white chocolate, stirring until smooth. Dip the cherries in the white chocolate, then the blue sugar. Place on wax paper to firm up. Store in fridge.
Cherry Almond Sorbet
I love all sorts of sorbets. I make them all year long, but seem to make more when summer arrives. The basic recipe is simple – just pureed fruit, some sweetener and usually, some flavoring or herb, to add interest. They are so light and refreshing. The perfect dessert for summer.
I picked up fresh cherries at the market, so I decided to make cherry sorbet with some of them.
Fresh cherries are one of my favorite fruits of all time. I love both sweet and sour cherries. For the sorbet, I just pitted a pound of sweet cherries, added sugar and some lemon juice. It needed a little something more- so I added almond extract. Really worked well with the cherries. You could easily use sour cherries in this recipe. You might want to add just a little more sugar. This sorbet would also be wonderful with a little vanilla added, or perhaps some fresh mint or basil.
So here is the recipe. Simple and sweet.
Cherry Almond Sorbet
1 lb. cherries, pitted
3/4 c. sugar, or to taste*
3 T. lemon juice – it helps the cherries retain their color
1 t. almond extract
Place cherries in blender or food processor, with the sugar and extract. Blend until smooth. Adjust sweetener to suit your taste. Place in a container with a lid and freeze. Once mixture is frozen, remove from the freezer, break into chunks and place in food processor. Process until mixture looks creamy and smooth. You might have to do this in batches, depending on the size of your food processor. Eat or return to freezer until ready to use. Makes just over a quart of sorbet.
*Feel free to use other sweeteners you like in place of the sugar. Honey or maple syrup would both work nicely.
Cherry Pie Scones
Who doesn’t love cherries? I know I do. I recently received a 10 pound bag of frozen sour cherries. I wanted to use some of them to make cherry pie filing.
I used some of the cherry pie filling as the base for these scones. The scones were just sweet enough and came out this beautiful pink color. They did remind me a little of cherry pie and summer. Nothing bad about that.
The scones were great just as they were- but would also make a wonderful base for shortcake. I think with a scoop of ice cream or a bit of whipped cream, these scones would also make a nice dessert.
These would also be nice to make for Mom on Mothers’ Day.
Cherry Pie Scones
3 c. flour
1/4 c. sugar
1 T. baking powder
1 t. salt
1/2 c. cold butter
1 1/3 c. cherry pie filling
2 eggs
2 t. vanilla
Glaze:
2 c. powdered sugar
2 T. vanilla
water
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or grease lightly. I have silicone baking mats so that is what I use. Set aside. In mixing bowl combine dry ingredients and cut in butter to resemble coarse crumbs. Combine pie filling with eggs and vanilla and stir to blend well. Add to dry ingredients and stir until mixed well. Mixture will be a stiff batter. Scoop 1/4 cup portions of batter onto the baking sheets- leaving a couple of inches between them. You will need both baking sheets. I used a 2 oz. ice cream scoop and got 22 scones. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until golden brown on the bottom. I switched my baking sheets about halfway through the baking. Remove to a cooling rack and make the glaze.
Combine the powdered sugar and vanilla in a small bowl and add enough water so the glaze is about the thickness of maple syrup, probably a couple of tablespoons. Dip the tops of each of the warm scones in the glaze and return to the cooling rack.
Cherry Pie Filling
4 c. pitted sour cherries- sweet cherries can also be used
1½ c. water
½ c. sugar- or a bit more if you like a sweeter pie filling
Pinch of salt
¼ c. cornstarch
Place cherries in a saucepan with 1 cup of the water, sugar and the salt. Bring to a simmer. Mix cornstarch with the ½ cup of water and add to the cherry mixture, cooking until just thickened. Cool. Makes about 4 cups.
Sour Cherry Jam
On a recent trip to Michigan, I visited King Orchards in Central Lake. I got a 10 pound bag of pitted, frozen sour cherries. I came home and divided them into smaller packs. I am going to have a lot of fun cooking with them. I started by making a batch of sour cherry jam.
This may be one of my favorite jams ever!!! Thinking I made need to make another batch….
Here is the recipe. Enjoy.
Classic Sour Cherry Jam
4 c. chopped pitted sour cherries, about 2 lbs.
1 box powdered pectin (1.75 oz.)
5 c. sugar
Wash jelly jars and lids and keep warm until ready to use. Place a large pot of water, with a rack, on to boil for the water bath. In large saucepan combine cherries with pectin. Bring to a rolling boil, stirring often. Add the sugar and bring mixture back to a rolling boil, stirring often. Once the mixture gets to a full, rolling boil, cook for one minute longer, stirring constantly. Remove jam from heat and skim off any foam. Ladle hot jam into hot jars, filling to about 1/4 inch from the top. Wipe off rim and screw on the lids. Repeat with remaining jam. Process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes. Turn off heat and let jar sit in the canner 5 minutes before removing. Remove from water bath and allow jars to cool. Yield: about 6 half pint jars of jam.
Recipe Source : NCHFP
Cherry Pie “Blintzes”
I think these blintzes are one of my favorites. They make a great dessert. We just dusted them with powdered sugar, but you can also top them with ice cream or whipped cream. They remind me a warm cherry pie. Blintzes also make a great breakfast or brunch dish.
They are easy to make, too. We made these in cooking camp this week and the kids loved them.
These are not traditional blintzes. The secret is that the blintzes are made with flour tortillas instead of traditional crepes. I love the texture flour tortillas take on when softened in milk. They really work well, and with a fraction of the work of making crepes. We used canned pie filling in camp, but since cherries are in season, I have included a recipe for making your own.
So here is the recipe. I think you will love them as much as I do.
Cherry Pie Blintzes
Cherry Pie Filling
4 c. pitted sweet cherries- sour cherries can also be used
1½ c. water
½ c. sugar- use a little more if using tart cherries
Pinch of salt
¼ c. cornstarch
Place cherries in a saucepan with 1 cup of the water, sugar and the salt. Bring to a simmer. Mix cornstarch with the ½ cup of water and add to the cherry mixture, cooking until just thickened. Cool. Makes about 4 cups.
Blintzes
8-10 Flour tortillas
½ c. Milk
Cherry Pie Filling
4 T. Butter
Powdered sugar
Make the pie filling ahead of time, so it is cooled down. Place the tortillas in a shallow pan and pour milk over them. Turn them to make sure they all get covered in the milk. Let the tortillas soften for 5-10 minutes. Place a tortilla on a flat surface and spoon about ½ cup of the pie filling in the middle. Fold sides in until they almost touch in the middle. Roll up from the bottom to form a little bundle. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling. Heat butter in saucepan over medium heat and brown the blintzes, turning over as needed to brown on both sides. Start them off seam side down, to keep them from popping open. Place on serving dish and dust with powdered sugar. Serve warm. Makes 8-10.
Browning in the skillet
Cherry Almond Sorbet
I love all sorts of sorbets. I make them all year long, but seem to make more when summer arrives. The basic recipe is simple – just pureed fruit, some sweetener and usually, some flavoring or herb, to add interest. They are so light and refreshing. The perfect dessert for summer.
So far I have make sorbet from pineapples, mangoes, strawberries, blueberries (with red grapes), peaches, cranberries and coconut. I am sure I have forgotten some of them.
I picked up fresh cherries at the market, so I decided to make cherry sorbet with some of them.
Fresh cherries are one of my favorite fruits of all time. I love both sweet and sour cherries. For the sorbet, I just pitted a pound of sweet cherries, added sugar and some lemon juice. It needed a little something more- so I added almond extract. Really worked well with the cherries. You could easily use sour cherries in this recipe. You might want to add just a little more sugar. This sorbet would also be wonderful with a little vanilla added, or perhaps some fresh mint or basil.
So here is the recipe. Simple and sweet.
Cherry Almond Sorbet
1 lb. cherries, pitted
3/4 c. sugar, or to taste*
3 T. lemon juice – it helps the cherries retain their color
1 t. almond extract
Place cherries in blender or food processor, with the sugar and extract. Blend until smooth. Adjust sweetener to suit your taste. Place in a container with a lid and freeze. Once mixture is frozen, remove from the freezer, break into chunks and place in food processor. Process until mixture looks creamy and smooth. You might have to do this in batches, depending on the size of your food processor. Eat or return to freezer until ready to use. Makes just over a quart of sorbet.
*Feel free to use other sweeteners you like in place of the sugar. Honey or maple syrup would both work nicely.
My Favorite Cherry Jam
I look forward to cherry season every year. I love eating fresh cherries, but I also like to preserve them, to enjoy year round. One of my favorite things to make is cherry jam.
This must be a great year for cherries. They seem bigger than usual, and very sweet.
While I normally make jam from sour cherries, I knew the sweet ones would work. Besides the cherries, sugar and pectin, this jam also contains lemon juice, vanilla and cinnamon. Those extra ingredients give the jam a more complex flavor and a little bit of a tang.
This may be one of my favorite jams ever!!! I was worried it would be too sweet, but it isn’t. The flavor of the cherries comes through as well at the flavor of the vanilla and cinnamon. Thinking I made need to buy more cherries and make another batch….
Here is the recipe. Enjoy.
Sweet Cherry Jam
4 c. chopped pitted sweet cherries, about 2 lbs.
6 T. powdered pectin
6 T. lemon juice
2 T. pure vanilla extract
1 t. cinnamon
4½ c. sugar
Wash jelly jars and lids and keep warm until ready to use. Place a large pot of water, with a rack, on to boil for the water bath. In large saucepan combine cherries with pectin, lemon juice, vanilla and cinnamon. Bring to a rolling boil, stirring often. Add the sugar and bring mixture back to a rolling boil, stirring often. Once the mixture gets to a full, rolling boil, cook for one minute longer, stirring constantly. Remove jam from heat and skim off any foam. Ladle hot jam into hot jars, filling to about 1/4 inch from the top. Wipe off rim and screw on the lids. Repeat with remaining jam. Process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes. Turn off heat and let jar sit in canner 5 minutes before removing. Remove from water bath and allow jars to cool. Yield: about 6 half pint jars of jam.
Adapted from The Ball Blue Book
Cherry Vanilla Liqueur
Cherry Vanilla Liqueur
I bought a lot of cherries, with plans to make jam and to dehydrate some. Maybe even make pie filling. But it is really hot here today, so I decided to use some of the cherries to make cherry liqueur, instead. It is easy, and the reward is having this lovely liqueur to enjoy even when cherries aren’t in season. I added a couple of vanilla beans to mine, but you can leave them out, if you prefer. You could also add 1-2 tablespoons of vanilla extract.
Cherry Vanilla Liqueur
2 c. granulated sugar
4 c. vodka or brandy
1 lb. large, washed, stemmed and pitted sweet cherries
2 (6-7 inch) vanilla beans, broken into several pieces
Place sugar and vodka or brandy in a large jar- I used a half gallon canning jar. Stir until sugar is mostly dissolved. Add cherries and vanilla and cover jar. Do not stir. Place in a cool, dark place for 3 months, without stirring or shaking. Strain and filter. Divine! Makes 4-6 cups.
