{Black Forest Cake}

(Serves 12-16)

Ingredients

* 1 (18 ounce) box devil's food cake mix, baked as directed in 9 x 13 inch pan and left in pan
* 3 eggs (or as called for by your cake mix)
* 1/3 cup oil (or as called for by your cake mix)
* 1 1/3 cups water (or as called for by your cake mix)
* 1 (8 ounce) container Cool Whip, thawed
* 1 tablespoon almond extract
* 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
* 1 (5 1/8 ounce) box instant vanilla pudding, prepared as directed 
* 1 (21 ounce) can cherry pie filling
* chocolate sprinkles
* maraschino cherries

Directions

1. Mix cherry pie filling and almond extract.

2. While cake is still warm, poke top all over with fork and spread the cherry filling mixture all over the top.

3. When you prepare vanilla pudding, make it as directed on box, but add the vanilla extract to it with the milk.

4. Fold Cool Whip into pudding.

5. Spread pudding mixture over cake, covering the cherry pie filling.

6. Decorate with chocolate sprinkles and or cherries.

7. Chill until serving time.

{Cherry-Chocolate Chip Cookies}

Prep: 25 minutes
Bake: 9 minutes per batch

Ingredients

* 1 cup butter, softened
* 1 cup granulated sugar
* 1 cup packed brown sugar
* 1 tsp. baking soda
* 1 tsp. salt
* 2 eggs
* 1-1/2 tsp. vanilla
* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 12-oz. pkg. semisweet chocolate pieces
* 1 cup snipped dried cherries
optional - add walnuts, pecans, etc.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugars, baking soda, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour. Stir in chocolate pieces and cherries.

2. Drop dough by tablespoons 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 9 minutes. Transfer to racks. Cool. Makes 6 dozen cookies.

Chocolate Cherry Cookies

Chocolate Cherry Cookies

Makes: 20 cookies

Ingredients:

* 1 pkg (8 oz.) sugar-free low fat chocolate cake mix

* 3 tablespoons fat-free (skim) milk

* 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

* 10 maraschino cherries, rinsed, drained & cut into halves

* 2 tablespoons white chocolate chips

* 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

2. Beat cake mix, milk and almond extract in a medium bowl with electric mixer at low speed. Increase speed to medium when mixture looks crumbly; beat 2 minutes or until smooth dough forms. (Note: Dough will be very sticky.)

3. Coat hands with cooking spray. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place balls 2 1/2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Flatten each ball slightly. Place cherry half in center of each cookie.

4. Bake 8 to 9 minutes or until cookies lose their shininess and tops begin to crack. Do not overbake. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.

5. Heat white chocolate chips and oil in small saucepan over very low heat until chips melt. Drizzle cookies with melted chips. Allow drizzle to set before serving.

Cherry Petites

This recipe is from my grandma's recipe collection.

Grandma Ella's Cherry Petites

Filling ingredients:

* 2-8 oz. cream cheese

* 3/4 c. sugar

* 2 eggs

* 1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

1. Mix with mixer until creamy.

2. Set aside.

Ingredients:

* 1 box vanilla wafers

* 1 can cherry pie filling

* cupcake liners

Directions:

1. Place 1 wafer in each cupcake holder.

2. Put 1 tsp. filling on top of each wafer.

3. Bake at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes.

4. Once cooked, add 1 tsp. cherry pie filling to each.

5. Enjoy!

{Grandma's Cherry Drop Cookies}

{No-Bake Cherry Cheesecake}

No-Bake Cherry Cheesecake

Ingredients:

* Graham Cracker Crust

* 1 1/4 cups Graham Cracker crumbs

* 1/4 cup margarine, softened

* 1/4 cup sugar

* filling

* 1 (8 oz.) pkg cream cheese

* 1 cup powdered sugar

* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

* 1 cup heavy cream, whipped

* 1 (12.5 oz.) can cherry pie filling

Directions:

1. Mix together Graham Crackers, margarine, and sugar in a bowl until well incorporated and crumbly. Press into a pie plate, going up the sides as much as possible.

2. Beat together the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl until smooth and spreadable. Whisk whipped cream into cream cheese mixture until smooth. Pour cream cheese into prepared crust. Smooth the top with a spatula, and refrigerate until firm, about 2 to 3 hours. Spread the cherry pie filling over the top, and refrigerate until serving.

{Cherry Clafouti}

Clafoutis is a baked French dessert that is typically made by baking fresh fruit (traditionally cherries) and a batter, halfway between a Yorkshire pudding/pancake batter and a custard [1], in a baking dish.

(Source: Wikepedia)

Cherry Clafouti

Makes: 12 servings

* 2 Tbsp, unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for greasing

* 2 cups fresh (or frozen, unthawed) cherries, pitted

* 1/3 cup granulated sugar

* 4 large eggs

* 1 cup whole milk

* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

* 1/4 tsp. salt

* Confectioners sugar, for dusting

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch, deep-dish pie plate. Fill with cherries.

2. In a blender, combine sugar, eggs, milk, flour, salt, and butter until smooth. Pour batter over cherries in prepared pie plate.

3. Bake until puffed and golden, about 30 minutes. Dust with confectioners sugar. Serve hot.

{National Cherries Jubilee Day!}

September 24th is National Cherries Jubilee Day

Cupcake of the Day - Vanilla cupcake with chunks of cherries, topped with a dab of whipped buttercream. (Need I say more!)

Happy National Cherries Jubilee Day!