tart cherries – Page 2 – Dragonfly Home Recipes

It’s cold and dark outside, and maybe you are craving something warm and bright. Or maybe you want to serve a dessert that is homemade, but one that doesn’t take a lot of time to prepare. Brighten up a dark winter evening with this cherry almond crumble. The warm, baked cherries are a burst of flavor and color, just when you need it. Quicker and easier than a pie, the crumble still allows you to enjoy the warm sweetness of baked fruit, but with a lightly sweet and crunchy topping, and only about fifteen minutes of prep time.

Tart cherries freeze beautifully, so frozen tart cherries are available and delicious all year round. This recipe (which I adapted from some of my other fruit crumble recipes, which I adapted over time, from countless sources) allows you to put the frozen cherries right in the baking dish, so you don’t even need to pre-cook them. I especially like the tart Montmorency cherries from northern Michigan, because they taste amazing. They are tart and sweet at the same time, and even after they are baked, they somehow still taste fresh to me.

My feelings for Michigan cherries run deep, and cherries are connected to many cherished memories for me, some of which I have already written about in previous posts. But even without the memories, these cherries are so full of health benefits! They have serious anti-inflammatory properties that are said to help soothe arthritis and sore muscles, among many other things. Also, the topping, with its oats and almonds, has some good nutrition in it too. The crumble is a more humble dessert than the pie, and it perhaps doesn’t look as glamorous (and it can be somewhat difficult to photograph too). But it tastes just a good, and sometimes comfort, ease, and economy of time win over glamour. I love it, and so does my family!

I hope you all have a great weekend, and stay warm! I am sharing this recipe with the great group of bloggers at Angie’s Fiesta Friday, co-hosted this week by Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook and Mr. Fitz @ Cooking With Mr. Fitz.

Cherry Almond Crumble

Servings: 6-8
Time: about 15 minutes of preparation, about 30 minutes for baking
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Ingredients:

For the fruit filling:

1 pound of frozen tart cherries (preferrably tart Montmorency cherries)
2 tablespoons of sugar
2 tablespoons of flour
a pinch of salt

For the topping:

1/2 cup of flour
3/4 cup of old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of raw almonds, chopped or slivered
6 tablespoons of unsalted butter

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, rolled oats, brown sugar, and almonds for the topping.

In a 9 inch x 9 inch baking pan, spread out the frozen cherries. Gently toss them with the 2 tablespoons each of sugar and flour, plus the pinch of salt, until well combined.

In the bowl with the topping ingredients, cut in the butter with a fork or a pastry cutter. Continue to work in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the cherries.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the topping is golden and the cherries are bubbling.

If you want the crumble to set, allow to cool for about 30 minutes. Serve alone or with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

For my husband’s birthday, instead of a cake I made him a cherry pie, one of his favorite things to eat. Cherry pies are layered with all kinds of memories for me. More tart cherries are grown and harvested in Michigan than in any other state in the U.S., and my family has always enjoyed Michigan cherries. As a child, one of the highlights of my summer vacations was getting a cherry pie at the Cherry Hut in Beulah, Michigan, and eating it outside. Then we started going to Charlevoix (also in northern Michigan) every vacation we got, and we discovered Friske Orchards, just south of Charlevoix. My mom and I began making cherry pies regularly from Friske Orchards Montmorency red tart cherries, and a family tradition has continued and evolved. I cannot think about cherry pies without thinking of my father, since it was his favorite dessert for as long as I can remember. He called it a “bright and lively” pie. And it is bright and lively. A cherry pie is a great way to add some cheerfulness to a dark, cold evening. When we look outside and see so much brown and gray, it is nice to feast our eyes (and palates) on the deep, bright hue of the cherries. And that ruby-red goodness is full of health benefits too–tart cherries contain antioxidants and help reduce inflammation. I have continued to make cherry pies for special occasions, and my husband and children have come to love them too. In fact, we planted a couple of cherry trees in our yard a few years ago, in hopes that we can someday make cherry pies with our very own cherries. But we will have to be patient until our trees get bigger. Right now we have to share what little cherries our trees produce with the birds and insects, not to mention the deer who chew on the branches!

Anyway, the frozen cherries from northern Michigan are deliciously tart, and are a source of pleasure. Because of their delicate nature, most tart cherries are frozen right after they are picked and washed, so they are available to be enjoyed year-round. I am sharing the recipe for the cherry pie filling found on the package of frozen Montmorency tart cherries from Friske Orchards. I am sure you can use any type of frozen tart cherries and this filling recipe will work. If you need a simple and delicious recipe for a double pie crust for fruit pies, I have a good one at this link. What a treat to enjoy some brightness when the darkness is coming earlier and earlier.

Friske Homemade Cherry Piefill

Servings: 6-8
Time: about 20 minutes, plus about an hour for baking
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Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds (680g/5 cups) frozen tart cherries
1 cup granulated sugar
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon Almond Extract

Combine ingredients in a medium saucepan and mix well. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute, stirring often. Filling thickens as it cooks. Pour into a pie crust and cover with the other pie crust. Follow the baking directions for the pie crust recipe. Serve with vanilla ice cream or just on its own. Enjoy!