Rustic Cherry Tart

This quick and easy cherry recipe is from Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross at Desperation Dinners. Desperation Dinners promises their recipes are not hard, do not require expensive equipment, and can be made in 20 minutes or less.

Start to finish: 5 minutes preparation, plus 20 minutes to bake and about 10 minutes to cool

Ingredients:

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 1 refrigerated piecrust (half of a 15-ounce box), at room temperature (see Cook’s note)
• 1 cup extra-fruit cherry-pie filling
• 1 1/2 teaspoons orange liqueur, such as Triple Sec, or 3/4 teaspoon orange extract
• Zest of 1 lemon,
• about 1 teaspoon
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• Sugar, a light sprinkle, to taste
• Vanilla ice cream, optional for serving

Cook’s note: Bring the piecrust to room temperature following the instructions on the package so that the crust does not crack during baking. We used both Pillsbury and our local supermarket house brand in testing, and both worked well.

We used cherry-pie filling with extra fruit for testing.* Any of the leftover filling, gel or cherries can be refrigerated for up to four days. (Use it to top cheesecake or spread on toast and croissants.)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray. Unroll the piecrust (it must be at room temperature) onto the prepared sheet. Spoon the cherry-pie filling (using as many of the cherries as possible) onto the crust, leaving a 2-inch margin. Sprinkle the liqueur, lemon zest and almonds evenly over the filling only.

Gently fold the edges of the crust inward over the first 2 inches of the filling, leaving the center open. The sides of the crust will overlap slightly at the edges. If the crust tears, gently press it back together with your fingers. Sprinkle sugar lightly, to taste, over the exposed crust.

Bake, uncovered, until the crust is light brown and the almonds are golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet until slightly warm, slice and serve, with vanilla ice cream if desired.

Serves 6.

Nutrition information per serving: 217 calories (49 percent from fat), 12 g fat (4 g saturated), 9 mg cholesterol, 2 g protein, 25 g carbohydrates, 1 g dietary fiber, 189 mg sodium.

*We think King Orchards Cherrier Cherry Pie Filling is a perfect choice for this recipe, because it is chock full of cherries.