I Cannot Tell a Lie. I Love Cherries!

Cherries remind me of summer.  I absolutely love eating fresh cherries when they are in season.  However, I can get that great cherry flavor year-round thanks to dried cherries and cherry preserves.  If you know how to use these two ingredients, you can make some delicious cherry recipes.  Here are a couple:

CHERRY ALMOND MUFFINS

Muffins:
1 box yellow cake mix
3 eggs
1/3 cup oil
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup cherry preserves

Topping:
1/4 cup oats
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup cold butter (cut butter into cubes & put on a plate in fridge to get cold)
1/4 cup slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix muffin ingredients together with mixer on medium speed until blended well.  Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.  Fill cups about 2/3 full with batter.

In a separate bowl, mix oats, flour, both sugars, and cinnamon.  Cut in the cold butter with a fork or pastry blender.

Stir in almonds.  It should look like this:

Sprinkle a little of this topping over each muffin.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.

These are so good!  You can't even tell you started with a box of cake mix.  They are perfect for breakfast or brunch and even dessert.  And they look like they came from a bakery.  My husband asked where I bought them.  Pretty and Delicious!

The next recipe is one that I dreamed up one night when I couldn't sleep.  How pathetic right?  I'm laying there, trying to sleep, but instead I'm thinking about how to put cherries in a cookie.  But, for once, my insomnia paid off!  These cookies are phenomenal!  My family went crazy for these!


WHITE CHOCOLATE CHERRY PECAN COOKIES

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 375 degrees (350 degrees if you're using a dark or non-stick cookie sheet).  Cream the butter, both sugars, egg and vanilla with a mixer until fluffy.  In a separate bowl, sift flour, soda and salt together.  Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir until blended.  Gently stir in the white chocolate chips, cherries and pecans.  Drop from a teaspoon 2 inches apart (they will spread a little) onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 minutes or until the edges are light golden brown.  Cool a few minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to a rack and cool completely.  Store in an airtight container.

So, there are a couple of ways to get that great cherry flavor anytime you want it.  I hope you give these recipes a try.  If you are a cherry fan, they are a must!  Enjoy!