Spiked Cherry Cheesecake Bonbons with Dark Morello Cherries and Toasted Pecan Coating

You all know how much my son loves desserts with cherries!  Naturally, I was inspired when I saw Dan at Mantitlement's recipe for Moonshine Cherry Cheesecake Bites.  Using his recipe as a guide, I did my twist on it using amaretto liqueur, firming and making the batter more workable with cake mix (which also added more texture and even more flavor) and completing with a coating of crushed toasted pecans.  I imported the idea of the cake mix from my recipe for Marbled Candy Barks with Cake Batter.  I also substituted the maraschino cherries with dark morello cherries.

We enjoyed these divine coated spiked cherries as a prelude to other desserts at a recent "After-The-Fact" family birthday party, and they were gobbled up in no time!   The party was to celebrate several birthdays for which we'd all been unable to gather at the same time.

I can't give Mantitlement enough accolades!  Dan, in collaboration with his wife Christie, offers such unique recipes with fabulous photos!  Their creations include delicious family-friendly recipes, along with marvelous appetizers and beverages.  Do check them out...you'll love the site!

By the way, accidents sometimes do actually become wonderful creations.  I forgot not to completely cover the cherries with the batter, so I added an uncoated spiked cherry on top of each coated spiked cherry; and Ta-Dah...

                                               A Wow Presentation...

                                      Offering A Little Bit Of Heaven!

Indescribably Delicious Cherry Pie with Sour Cream

Oh boy, this scrumptious pie was a big hit at my son's recent birthday!  He loves cherry desserts, and I opted for this incredibly delicious, yet easy pie. 

I used frozen pitted dark, sweet whole cherries, rather than the tart cherries as recommended in the original recipe.  I did not adjust the sugar for the sweet cherries, and the pie was terrific.  So either sweet or tart cherries should work with the same amount of sugar as specified in the original recipe.  It should also be very good with other fruits, such as strawberries or blueberries...oh, I'll be experimenting with other fruits in this recipe!

It's supposed to be refrigerated before it's cut; but I didn't, since I wanted to photo before the birthday get-together.  However, it does slice better refrigerated.

This pie has an almost cake-like topping...one person described the flavor as similar to a cheesecake.  It's tempting to say it has a custard-like topping, but this recipe has too much flour for that.  Anyway you describe it, it's fantastic!

I included a link with great directions for cutting foil to cover the edges of the pie to prevent over-browning.  At one time I used a pie tape...is that made any more, or what is your preferred method?

I know you and yours will love this pie as much as we did!
                                
                                     The Topping Is Kind of Cake Like....

                                           Maybe Like Cheesecake?

Chewy, Crunchy Oatmeal Cookies with Dark Chocolate, Cherries and Toasted Almonds

Say you're my everything and I plan to keep you around a while with these delicious and healthy oatmeal cookies!  Loaded with cherries, almonds and dark chocolate, they'll devour every morsel of these thick, chewy and crunchy delights!  Surprise them with a couple for breakfast in bed on Valentine's...they'll feel so pampered!

                                         Dessert For Breakfast!
                                 

                              
                                    Better Than a Five-Star Hotel!

Approx. 32 large cookies

Ingredients

• 1 c. packed light-brown sugar
• 1/2 c. granulated white sugar
• 3/4 c. butter, cut into large chunks
• 1/4 c. water
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 3 c. old fashioned rolled oats
• 1 c. unsifted all-purposed flour 
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1 c. unsalted, dry-toasted, slivered almonds (available at Trader Joe's in an 8 oz. pkg.), coarsely chopped
• 1 c. tart, dried cherries--broke apart with your fingers (can substitute dried cranberries)
• 10 oz. bag dark chocolate morsels (1 c. for batter and remainder for drizzle)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. Line a couple of cookie sheets with parchment paper.
3. Beat the sugars and butter well and scrape the bowl.
4. Add the water, egg and vanilla and mix well; scrape the bowl again.
5. In a separate bowl, using a whisk or fork, combine well the oats, flour, baking soda, salt and spices.
6. Add the almonds, cherries and 1 c. of the chocolate morsels to the dry mixture and stir well with a wooden spoon or spatula.
7. Incorporate well the dry mixture with the fruit, nuts and chocolate into the wet mixture...you can use your electric mixer on a low speed. 
8. Using an ice cream scoop, drop the batter onto the parchment-lined cookie sheets, about two inches apart each scoop.
9. Bake approximately 16-18 minutes or until light-golden brown.
10. Let stand on the pans about one minute.  Carefully slide the whole sheets of parchment paper with the cookies onto racks to cool.  Once cooled, carefully place the paper with the cookies back onto the cookie sheets.
11. Melt the remaining chocolate morsels in a microwave-safe bowl for about 45 seconds on medium-high (70%) power.  Stir well.  If not completely melted, return the chocolate to the microwave for another 10 to 15 seconds and stir well again.  Working quickly, use a whisk to drizzle the melted chocolate onto the cookies.  
12. To set the chocolate, freeze the cookies on the cookie sheets for about 15 minutes or refrigerate them for about 30-45 minutes.  Store in an air-tight container.

Share your love on Valentine's with these scrumptious cookies, and you'll get lots of hugs and kisses for sure!  Enjoy!

 P. S.
                                           You're My Everything...

                                                  Forever!

Printable Recipe