They’re good for you.*
But don’t hold that against them.
Sour cherries pop up in market pails every summer for brief dalliances only. Tart until baked, they deliver a sweet bite perfect for pies, cobblers, crisps, turnovers, jams, sauces…the list is endless.
Here at Wit’s End, the pitter is primed.
There’s usually a bag or two in the freezer for our New Year’s eve strudel tradition where nobody much cares if the cherries are fresh, soused as they we are in celebratory spirit.
Summer varieties, arriving mid July, nestled in a pie, produce an equally charitable mood, with it’s very own R rating.
But let’s start with some foreplay. A cobbler is never turned down. Once offered as part of a dessert menu for the annual holiday poker party (because real men aren’t afraid to be sweet) , it was gone before all the other bonbons. Not sure it helped the players on losing streaks but I never promised good luck. Just love and sugar, baby.
Sour Cherry Cobbler
adapted from Gourmet
Serves 6 unless serious cherry addicts are about and sniffling for bigger portions.
What you need:
4 cups sour cherries
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2/3 cup granulated sugar plus 2 tablespoons more for dough
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
1/4 cup boiling water
1 tablespoon golden brown sugar for sprinkling
a good quality vanilla ice cream
A dutch oven ( I use a Le Creuset)
What you do:
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Pit the cherries. Reserve any juice (good idea to do the pitting over a bowl). This requires patience. Helps if you have a friend or family member with a cottage.
- Add cornstarch, 2/3 cup granulated sugar, lemon juice and almond extract to the berries and any reserved juices. Stir gently with rubber spatula. Try not to smash the cherries.
- Place cherry mixture in dutch oven and bring to a boil, then simmer for 2 minutes.
- In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt and the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar.
- Cut the butter into small pieces and add in with a pastry blender until it resembles coarse meal. If you don’t have a pastry blender, use your fingers sparingly.
- Stir in boiling water to the flour mixture with a fork just until combined. Drop batter in small scoops over the hot cherry mixture. If you want something fancier, you can shape your dough into squares but I prefer the rustic look.
- Sprinkle brown sugar over the dough pieces.
- Bake for 50 minutes or until the top is golden.
Wait for 10 minutes before serving with small scoop of vanilla ice cream. Stored in the fridge, it will last for a day or two and is also good cold, without the ice cream.
* Read here on the health benefits of sour cherries
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