dessert

Cooking Up Fresh Cherry Dessert in the Country

Last Friday I shared about buying fresh cherries recently.  I wanted to bake them up into something yummy and I came across this recipe on the Internet…

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It turned out to be a not-too-sweet dessert, but a really delicious one.  It took me longer to pit the cherries than it did to assemble the crumble.  It made six small servings; perfect after dinner with a scoop of ice cream on it!

I found Rainier cherries that look like this…

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They have a yellow/red skin and are mild flavored.  They were developed in Washington state and are named after Mount Rainier.  They are considered to be a premium cherry. This yellowish colored fruit doesn’t stain your fingers when you’re working with them!  I loved them.  They’re pretty, and tasty and perfect for this dessert of Cherry Crumble!  Here’s how it was made:

Fresh Cherry Crumble/Crisp Recipe

makes 6 small servings
For cherry mixture

2 cups pitted, fresh cherries
2 tbsp sugar (this will produce a mildly sweet crumble. add more sugar if you like)
4 tbsp water
1 tsp corn starch

Cherry Crumble
Click on picture to enlarge

For streusel or crumb topping
3/4 cup flour
3 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp white sugar
a pinch of ground cinnamon
a pinch of salt
5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted plus more to butter baking dish

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Place the pitted cherries and sugar in a saucepan. Cook on medium-high heat for about 4 minutes or untill the cherries are lightly softened. Mix together the corn starch and water and add it to the cherries. Cook for about 1 minute or till the mixture thickens.

To make the streusel or crumb topping, combine the flour, brown and white sugars, cinnamon and salt together. Mix well. Then pour in the melted butter. Using your fingers, rub the butter into the flour until it forms a crumbly mixture.

Lightly butter a baking dish (I used 6 individual sized creme brulee dishes). Divide the cherry mixture among the dishes. Place the crumb topping on top and bake for 15 minutes or till the topping has lightly browned.

Who could resist this:

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Have you ever used Rainier Cherries?  What did you make?  This dessert is fancy enough for a special occasion, but simple enough for a weeknight.  Good stuff!

With love from my country kitchen,

dessert

What’s Cookin’ in the Country?

A couple weekends ago I had eight people for dinner after church on Sunday.  I needed a dessert that was quick and wouldn’t heat up the house because it was a hot day!  I immediately thought about a Frozen Peanut Butter Pie that I’ve made lots of times from Southern Living.  I knew I had all the ingredients except one on hand, so one dessert was checked off in my mind.  That’s a great feeling!

The next pie recipe I went looking for was something with strawberries.  I stumbled across a recipe for a Strawberry Mousse Pie that sounded really refreshing for a June day.  I also had all the ingredients for that yummy dessert in my freezer and pantry!  Bingo!  Here are the results:

PicMonkey Collage No Bake pies

 

I decided to make a Chocolate Graham cracker crust for both pies.  Why?  Because I love both chocolate covered strawberries and Peanut Butter cups!  The crust was a cinch to make!  Here’s my recipe:

Chocolate Graham Cracker Pie Crust Recipe
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

Place all ingredients in a bowl, and mix until combined. Press the mixture into one regular sized pie tin. Chill while preparing the filling.  I really even found that it’s best to freeze it so it won’t crumble.

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Ingredients

1 (3 ounce) package strawberry flavored Jell-O®
2/3 cup boiling water
3 cubes ice
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 cup strawberries, hulled and sliced (I used frozen, sliced berries)
1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust

Directions: In a medium bowl, combine gelatin and boiling water. Stir 3 minutes, or until gelatin is dissolved. Add ice and stir until gelatin thickens and cools. Fold in the whipped topping and strawberries. Chill until mixture will mound, then spoon into crust. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

Now for the Frozen Peanut Butter Pie

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Ingredients
1 cup whipping cream (or use Cool Whip!)
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (9-inch) prepared chocolate pie crust

Preparation

1. Beat whipping cream at medium speed with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.

2. Combine cream cheese and next 3 ingredients; beat until creamy, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed. Fold in whipped cream. Spoon cream cheese mixture into piecrust. Freeze 1 hour.

This is also super yummy with a small peanut butter cup as a garnish.  Or I’ve also sprinkled the crust with peanuts before adding the filling.  Aaaaand, if you double the recipe, you can fill three crusts!!!!

These are great do-ahead desserts.  You could keep both pies in the freezer until needed and then whip them out to look like the hostess with the mostess!

Anything special being baked up in your kitchen this week?

With love from my country kitchen,