Did you know that on average, Americans eat one pound of cherries each year?! That adds up to about 260 million pounds of cherries that folks are downing annually. And many of those cherries are grown right here in Michigan.
Make sure that your family is getting their fill of this sweet, tart fruit on May 26, 2017 to celebrate National Cherry Dessert Day. For easy cherry dessert recipes, make up a big dish of cherry-almond trifle or Italian cherry bread pudding. More of a cookie or bar fan? Then bake up a batch of cherry sugar cookie macaroons or cherry oatmeal crumble bars. These dessert recipes with cherries are sure to please!
Cherry-Almond Trifle
For this recipe for cherry-almond trifle from Kraft, start by whisking together cheesecake pudding mix in milk and then adding in whipped topping and sour cream. Coarsely crush sandwich cookies and place at the bottom of a glass bowl to create your first layer. Next, add the pudding mixture followed by cherry pie filling spiked with almond extract. Finish with a layer of whipped topping and then refrigerate until cold.
Italian Cherry Bread Pudding
Soften dried cherries in warmed orange juice while you’re preparing the rest of the ingredients for this Italian cherry bread pudding from King Arthur Flour. Break day-old bread apart into bite-sized pieces and spread into a casserole dish. Next, sprinkle on cherries. Stir together milk, cream, eggs, sugar, vanilla and spices. Pour over bread and bake.
Cherry Sugar Cookie Macaroons
Mix together refrigerated sugar cookie dough, nuts, dried cherries, coconut and vanilla. Roll the dough into balls and place onto greased cookie sheets. Make an indent in each cookie with the back of a teaspoon. Once baked, add a teaspoon full of cherry preserves on each one to finish off these cherry sugar cookie macaroons from Pillsbury.
Cherry Oatmeal Crumble Bars
These cherry oatmeal crumble bars from Mom On Timeout are fast and easy to make. Stir together yellow cake mix, quick-cooking oats and melted butter. Press half of this mixture onto the bottom of a casserole dish. Pour cherry pie filling over the crust and then crumble the rest of the oatmeal mixture on top. These bars are best served warm – maybe even with a little vanilla ice cream.
Cherry Cheese Pie
Whip cream cheese until light and then add in sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice and a touch of vanilla extract. Chill this creamy combination in a graham cracker crust. Pour one can of cherry pie filling on the chilled cream cheese and refrigerate once more before serving this cherry cheese pie from The Girl Who Ate Everything.
Chocolate-Cherry Cola Cake
Chop up a jar of maraschino cherries, reserving the juice. Mix chocolate cake mix, cherry cola soda pop, eggs, oil, eggs and leftover cherry juice. Toss in chopped cherries and then pour into a casserole dish. Bake and then frost with marshmallow crème. Top each piece of cake with extra maraschino cherries. This moist chocolate-cherry cola cake from Betty Crocker not disappoint! Expect your kids to ask for seconds.
