Dried Sweet Cherry Recipes

DRIED CHERRY CAKE

Steps:

• Combine cherries, hot water, and almond extract: let stand 20 minutes. Drain cherries, and pat dry between layers of paper towels. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, and 1 cup white sugar. Add yogurt, eggs, and oil. Stir well. Fold in cherries. Pour batter into a greased and floured 9 inch round cake pan.
• Stir pecans and 1 tablespoon white sugar together. Sprinkle on top of batter in pan.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35 minutes, or until wooden pick comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack 10 minutes. Serve warm, or at room temperature.

DRIED CHERRY AND ALMOND COOKIES WITH VANILLA ICING

Steps:

• For the Cookies:
• In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar, vanilla extract, almond extract, cinnamon, and salt until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, then beat in the egg. Add the flour and beat on the lowest speed until just blended. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the dried cherries and almonds.
• Transfer the dough to a sheet of plastic wrap and shape it into a log, about 12-inches long and 1 1/2-inches in diameter. Wrap the dough in the plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. (Dough can be made up to 3 days in advance).
• Arrange an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 heavy baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Cut the log crosswise into 1/2-inch thick slices. Transfer the dough slices to the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 1-inch apart. Bake until the cookies are golden around the edges and puffed, about 15 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely before icing, about 30 minutes.
• For the Icing:
• Put the powdered sugar in a medium bowl. Gradually whisk in the vanilla extract and water, adding more water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until the mixture becomes a drizzling consistency. (Makes about 2/3 cups icing, enough to ice both variations.)
• Put the cooled cookies on a wire rack set over a baking sheet. Using a spoon or a fork, drizzle the cookies with the icing, allowing any excess icing to drip onto the baking sheet. Allow the icing to set before serving, about 1 hour.
• Cook's Note: To toast the almonds, arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 6 to 8 minutes until lightly toasted. Cool completely before using.
• Cook's Note Alternative:
• Replace the dried cherries with 1/2 cup coarsely chopped dried apricots and add 2 tablespoons of toasted pine nuts. Also, use 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and omit the almond extract.

DRIED CHERRY RELISH

Steps:

• Place the cherries in a saucepan with the water, bring to a boil, cover and remove from heat. Set aside for one hour.
• Drain the cherries, reserving the liquid. Chop them fine and mix them with the onion and red pepper.
• Mix the vinegar and sugar with the reserved soaking liquid. Mix with the cherries, onion and red pepper and season with black pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

DRIED CHERRY-ALMOND BREAD

Steps:

• In medium bowl, pour boiling water over cherries; let stand 20 minutes. Drain. Heat oven to 325°F. Spray 9x5-inch loaf pan with baking spray with flour.
• In large bowl, beat brown sugar and softened butter with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Beat in eggs and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract until mixture is smooth. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt just until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in almonds and cherries; mixture will be thick. Spoon into pan.
• Bake 60 to 70 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean and top is dark golden brown. Cool 10 minutes on cooling rack. Loosen sides of loaf from pan; remove from pan, and place top side up on cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
• In small bowl, mix glaze ingredients until smooth. Drizzle over cooled bread. Wrap tightly; store at room temperature. Cut loaf into 12 slices; cut each slice in half.

DRIED CHERRY MUFFINS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• For the topping, combine flour, sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl; mix well. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs; set aside.
• For the muffins, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl. In another bowl, combine eggs, sour cream, oil and milk; mix well. Add egg mixture, cherries and pecans to flour mixture; stir only until combined.
• Portion batter evenly into 12 paper-lined or lightly greased muffin cups (2 3/4 inches in diameter). Sprinkle reserved crumb topping evenly over batter.
• Bake in a preheated 375 degree F. oven 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm.

OATMEAL AND DRIED CHERRY COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper;set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda and baking powder; set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or using a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla, and beat to incorporate. Add flour mixture to butter mixture, beating on low speed to combine. Stir in the oats and dried cherries.
• Using a 2-ounce scoop, drop the dough onto prepared baking sheets, leaving 6 inches between cookies. Bake until edges are just turning brown, about 20 minutes. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet, then remove to wire racks to cool completely.