Orchard Talk

Andy Ross of the Wooster Square Cherry Blossom Festival shares his personal size cherry pie recipe featuring King Orchards IQF Montmorency tart cherries.

This recipe makes six personal size cherry pies. (5 inch pie tins)

Filling
5 C of fresh frozen unsweetened cherries or three 15 oz cans of tart. I use cherries fresh frozen from King Orchards brand or their canned tart cherries.
1 Tbls of organic tapioca starch or corn starch
3 C of superfine sugar.
1 Tbls lemon juice
1 tsp almond extract

Bottom Crust
1 C of crushed gram cracker crumbs plus some for dusting pans. I prefer Nabisco.
4 Tbls unsalted butter

Upper crust
1 box of prepared crust from either Pillsbury of store brand such as Stop & Shop.
1/8 C of extra virgin light olive oil
1/8 C of superfine sugar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375. Thaw the cherries and drain them well. Reserve the cherry juice for shakes or mixing with seltzer. Mix the cherries with 2 cups of the sugar, let sit and drain again. Mix in the tapioca or corn starch, almond extract and lemon juice and the balance of sugar to taste. Let them sit for 15 minutes while you prepare your crust and gram cracker crust bottom.

Take your small tin pans and spray them with butter flavored Pam or grease them with butter. Then dust the sides and bottom of the tins with gram cracker crumbs.

Melt the butter and mix it with 1 cup gram cracker crumbs. Take the dusted pans and place the gram cracker mixture on the bottom about 1/8 thick. Press the gram cracker mixture with a spoon until compacted. Place in freezer for 15 minutes to chill before filling.

Roll out you prepared pie crust and use one of the tins as a template cutting out a circle. You should be able to cut out three upper crusts per roll. Take your cherry mixture and scoop it out with a slotted spoon to leave any excess liquid behind and fill the tin piled a little high but not too high. Place the crust over the tin. Use fork tines to press down the edges of the upper crust against the tins. Carefully cut an x-shaped slit in the upper crust using a sharp knife.
Mix the olive oil with super fine sugar so you have a thick mixture. Brush the tops of the pies with the mixture using a pastry brush..

Bake the pies on a cookie sheet or directly on the rack for 35-40 minutes. The crusts should look golden brown not soggy.

Tags: cherry pie, iqf tart cherries, Our Websites, Recipes

Rose tried these cherry pie cookies, or mini-pies,  in her bakery some time ago (much too long ago, come to think of it). They were a big hit! I am posting them here by special request.

p.s. I wonder if a person could cut little hearts in the center of the pastries for Valentine’s Day treats.

CHERRY PIE COOKIES

Ingredients:
Cherry filling (see recipe below)  – 1 1/4 cups
Prepared pie pastry
1 Large egg
1 Tbl. Water
Coarse white sugar

Directions:

Prepare cherry filling according to recipe below.

Roll pie pastry on lightly floured surface to 1/8 inch thickness. Using floured cutter, cut into 4-inch diameter rounds. Re-work scraps of pastry once.

Combine egg and water; mix well. Place 1 ounce (1 tablespoon) cherry filling in center of one round. Brush edges with egg wash. top with another round. Seal edges with a fork. Place on parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining rounds.

Brush top of cookies with egg mixture. Cut slit in top to allow steam to escape during baking. Sprinkle lightly with sugar.

Bake in preheated 400 F degree conventional oven 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden. Remove from baking sheet and let cool completely on wire racks.

Cherry Filling
(with canned tart cherries)
Yield: 2-1/4 quarts   (This recipe yields a lot of cherry filling!)

Ingredients:
2 1/4 quarts   Water-pack canned tart cherries (4 pounds 5 ounces drained weight) – 6 15oz cans
1 1/2 cups   Granulated sugar
1/2 cup   Cornstarch
3/4 cup Reserved Juice or water
1 Tbl. Almond Extract

Directions:
Drain Cherries, reserving juice. Combine sugar and cornstarch in 6-quart saucepan; mix well. Stir in reserved cherry juice or water.

Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. Boil 1 minute, stirring occasionally, until mixture is thickened and clear. Remove from heat. Stir in drained cherries and almond extract.

Refrigerate cherry mixture 1 to 2 hours. Cover. Mixture will keep refrigerated up to 3 days. Do not heat before using.

Use this filling to prepare Cherry Pie Cookies or other bakery recipes.

Tags: cherry pie cookies, Powered by Red

I really should title this post, “Dave did my homework.” Last night, Betsy sent me home with a can of tart cherries in water and a simple assignment. I was supposed to make the cherry dumpling recipe from MixingBowl.com, so I could write about it today as part of our “28 Days Powered by Red” Orchard Talk series.  Betsy made it last weekend with great success, and assured me it was super good and easy.

I watched “Julie & Julia” on DVD instead. Oh, the irony!

Neither a baker nor a real writer am I, but I do have one thing in common with both Julie Powell and Julia Child: a great husband.  I left him the can of cherries, a folded up recipe and a camera, and here is what he did.

Dave made the cherry sauce. He said he only used 1/2 cup of sugar, and that he would use even a little less next time, just so he could get the extra “pop” from the tart cherries. The other thing he considered was maybe adding a touch of cherry juice concentrate to the mixture to further enhance both the cherry flavor and the color.

Dave brought the cherry filling to a boil.

Dave then mixed up the ingredients for the dumpling part. We’re out of nutmeg at home, so he used cinnamon instead. Butter. Sugar. Cinnamon. No problem there.

Dave dropped the dumpling mix by spoonfuls over the cherry mixture, then did as instructed.  He covered the pot and let it cook on medium-low heat for 20 minutes without looking. He said that was the hardest part, not lifting the lid.

Dave texted me at 12:48pm. “Omg c u in a minute.” A few moments later, he brought us a pot of “warm cherry goodness,” just as the recipe stated.  We all agreed it was delicious, and that it couldn’t hurt to add an extra can of cherries if like us, you’d like a little more cherry filling. The dumplings totally hold their own and then some, so this is really just a matter of preference.

Dave posed with then-half-eaten-soon-to-be-completely-eaten pot of cherry dumplings.  This 28 days of cherries thing is turning out to be great fun!

Here is the complete recipe, as published by Kim in Pueblo, CO.

Tags: cherry dumplings, cherry recipes, tart cherries in water

National Pie Championship: Best of Show in the Professional division

Linda Hundt, owner of the Sweetie-licious Pie Pantry in DeWitt, Michigan

Crust:

• 1 ½ cups of flour
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• ½ cup Crisco shortening

Mix all ingredients in a stand mixer on medium speed swiftly until crust appears “pea like.”   Carefully sprinkle ice cold water in crust mix until it just starts to be fully moistened and gathers together.  Pat into disc, wrap and refrigerate for at least one half hour.  Roll out on floured surface and make and crimp piecrust.  Freeze until ready to use.

Filling:

• 4 ½ cups Montmorency tart cherries –frozen*
• 1 cup sugar
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• ½ tsp real almond extract
• 1 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
• ½  tsp orange zest
• ½ cup dried Michigan cherries
• 1 ½ cups of frozen blueberries

Combine frozen cherries, dried cherries, sugar, cornstarch.  Stir constantly on med-hi heat until boiling.  Boil for one minute or until thickened. Add almond extract, lemon juice and zest.  Pour blueberries in bottom of pie shell and pour cherry mixture over them.

Crumb Topping

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 stick butter softened

Mix together all crumb topping ingredients by hand or a pastry blender until crumbly.

Cover filling with crumb topping.  Bake in preheated 400 degree oven for 45 minutes to one hour or until filling is bubbling over crust.

*Note:  We ship IQF (individually quick frozen) tart cherries during the winter months. Please call 1-877-937-5464 if you’d like information. If you can’t get the frozen cherries, canned tart cherries packed in water make an excellent and affordable substitute.

This tart cherry muffin recipe comes courtesy of the Cherry Marketing Institute and Linda Hundt, Owner of the Sweetie Pie Pantry in Dewitt, Michigan and winner of the 2009 National Pie Championship, Best in Show for her Tom’s Cherry Cherry Berry Pie. According to Linda, “Tart cherries are the most versatile fruit to use, and products made with tart cherries are best sellers. These muffins are the most popular ones in our shop.”  Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon Key lime juice
2 cups frozen (IQF) tart cherries (Canned tart cherries would work for this recipe, too)
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Glaze:
3 tablespoons cream cheese
2 tablespoons Key lime juice
1 cup confectioners’ sugar

Directions:

Stir together flour, baking powder and baking soda; set aside.
In large mixing bowl, beat 3/4 cup granulated sugar and butter. Add eggs; beat 1 minute. Slowly add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to butter mixture; add lime juice. Beat on low speed until smooth.
Toss cherries 1/4 cup granulated sugar. By hand, stir cherries into muffin batter.
Grease muffin tins or line with baking cups. Fill each muffin cup three-fourths full with batter.
For regular-size muffins, bake in a preheated 375 degree conventional oven 15-20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
For jumbo-size muffins, bake in a preheated 375 degree conventional oven 30-35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

If desired, drizzle with glaze before serving. To make glaze, beat softened cream cheese until smooth. Add lime juice and confectioners’ sugar, beating until combined. Drizzle over cooled muffins.

Tags: canned cherries, cherry muffin, cherry recipes, frozen tart cherries, tart cherries

Tags: cherry cobbler, cooking with cherries, fresh cherries, Fresh Cherry Recipes, tart cherries

1/2 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar, divided
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cans (16 ounces each) tart cherries
1 cup dried cherries
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
4 to 5 drops red food coloring, optional
Favorite pastry for two-crust pie

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Filling: In a 3-quart saucepan, combine 1/2 cup of the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Drain the liquid from the canned cherries into the saucepan; set cherries aside. Stir the cherry liquid into the sugar mixture until no lumps remain. Heat the mixture to boiling over medium heat, stirring frequently; continue cooking 1 minute or until mixture is thickened and slightly translucent. Remove from the heat, stir in the reserved tart cherries, dried cherries, almond extract and, if desired, food coloring.

Roll out bottom pastry between 2 sheets of lightly floured waxed paper. Place the pastry in the bottom of a 9-inch pie pan, letting the excess extend over the edge. Spoon in the cherry filling. Roll out top pastry and place over filling. Flute or crimp edges. Cut several slits in top crust to vent pie. Or, you can make a lattice top crust, whichever suits your family. Sprinkle the remaining 1 teaspoon of sugar onto the pastry strips. Place pie on the top rack in oven and place a baking sheet or piece of foil on lower rack to catch any drips.

Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until pastry is golden brown and the filling bubbles. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack 15 to 20 minutes before cutting.
Makes 10 servings. From the Cherry Marketing Institute.

Tags: Cherries, cherry recipes, michigan, michigan cherries, michigan tart cherries, Recipes, tart cherry recipes, traverse city

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 stick margarine
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 1/2 cup mashed bananas
1 cup drained, pitted & cut up sour cherries
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking soda

Cream sugar & margarine. Add eggs, cherries & bananas. Mix dry ingredients together and add to first mixture. Bake in two 9″ x 4″ greased bread pans at 350° for 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Tags: Cherries, cherry recipes, michigan, michigan cherries, michigan tart cherries, Recipes, tart cherry recipes, traverse city

Ingredients:

1 rolled pork roast or a 3 to 5 pound center cut pork roast
1/3 cup fresh sage, chopped
1/3 cup fresh mint, chopped
1/3 cup fresh marjoram, chopped
1 cup cherry jam or jelly
small red potatoes, if desired

Untie string that holds roast together. Open roast carefully. Mix the three kinds of fresh herbs together in a bowl. Put herbs in the middle of the roast and retie the strings. If a center cut pork roast in used, cut 3 slits down length of roast about 1 inch deep. Stuff fresh herbs into the slits. Set roast into an oven pan and roast at 325 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes per pound. In a small saucepan melt cherry jam or jelly and add the remaining fresh herbs. When 1 hour is left of roasting time, pour the melted jam or jelly and herb mixture over the roast. Put any potatoes that are desired in the roast at this time. Every 15 minutes, baste the roast with the jam or jelly mixture.

Tags: cherry jam, cherry recipes

Tart cherry juice after a workout is the way many athletes ease muscle soreness. This triple hit of tart cherries, antioxidants, and protein is a great post-exercise treat.

Ingredients:
1 cup thawed tart cherries (canned tart cherries are an easy and less expensive alternative)
1 cup fresh or partially frozen strawberries
3 Tablespoons orange juice concentrate
1 /2 cup plain, nonfat yogurt (or vanilla nonfat yogurt)
1 /2 cup tart cherry juice (1.5 tablespoons cherry juice concentrate)
2 Tablespoons honey
ground nutmeg

Directions:
Combine all ingredients, except nutmeg in a blender and whip until smooth. Pour into glasses and sprinkle with nutmeg.

Makes 2 servings (approx. 1 1 /2 cup each)

Nutrition Info:
Nutrition Facts per 1 ½ cup serving: 227 calories, 1 g total fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 0 g carbohydrate, 1 mg cholesterol, 5 g protein, 4 g fiber, 51 mg sodium; Daily Values: 5% vitamin A; 134% vitamin C; 16% calcium; 6%iron

Tags: cherry juice, cherry recipes, tart cherry recipes