Tag: cherries

Cakes & Bakes: White chocolate & cherry cookies

Stack of white chocolate & cherry cookies with mug of coffee

After the success of last week’s fig & pecan cookies – I wanted to make some more. They’re just the ticket to have with our mid-day mug of coffee.

Creamed butter & sugar with egg in a mixing bowl

I looked in my store cupboard to see what was available; it was fruit and nut last time, so I decided that white chocolate & cherry cookies would make a good combo.

Balls of white chocolate & cherry cookie dough on a lined baking sheet

Ready-made white chocolate chips would be the ideal, but a bar simply whacked with a rolling pin helps with stress relief and tastes exactly the same!

White chocolate & cherry cookies straight out of the oven

The cookies are gorgeous – soft, chewy, sweet and buttery. They’re best on the same day or the day after… but you probably won’t encounter any problems polishing them off in that time-frame.

Click here or on the image below to save my white chocolate & cherry cookies recipe to Pinterest

White chocolate & cherry cookies recipe

Stack of white chocolate & cherry cookies with mug of coffee

White chocolate & cherry cookies

Print recipe Pin recipe
Cook Time 15 minutes
Servings 24 cookies

Equipment

  • large baking sheet
  • large mixing bowl
  • wire balloon whisk
  • rubber spatula or wooden spoon

Ingredients
  

  • 135 g salted butter softened
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • 150 g caster sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 180 g plain flour
  • ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 100 g white chocolate chopped
  • 100 g glacé cherries chopped

Instructions
 

  • In a large mixing bowl and using a wire whisk, cream the softened butter, vanilla extract and caster sugar
  • Whisk in the egg until completely mixed in
  • Sift over the flour and bicarbonate of soda, Fold in using a spatula or wooden spoon until fully combined
  • Stir in the chopped chocolate and cherries
  • Cover and chill the dough in the fridge for about an hour
  • Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F/ Gas mark 3
  • Grease & line a large baking sheet with baking parchment
  • Scoop out about a dessert spoon of the cold dough at a time, roll it between your palms to form a ball
  • Put the ball on the prepared baking sheet (only put 4 or 5 balls on the sheet at a time, leaving lots of space between each ball, as the cookies spread a fair amount during cooking)
  • Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until they turn lightly golden around the edges
  • Allow to cool and firm up for 5 minutes on the tray before transferring them to a wire rack for at least a further 10 minutes
  • Repeat stages 8-11 until all the cookie dough has been used
White chocolate & cherry cookies ingredients
Keyword biscuits, cherries, chocolate, cookies, white chocolate

Cakes & Bakes: Cherry pie

Slice of home-made cherry pie | H is for Home

Justin’s favourite pie is bilberry, closely followed by strawberry. I on the other hand, like Twin Peaks’ Special Agent Dale Cooper, prefer a nice slice of cherry pie. Whatever the flavour, we agree on having it à la mode, with thick pouring cream… or better still, both!

Making sweet, short pastry | H is for Home Frozen cherries and caster sugar | H is for Home

A few weeks ago, I discovered bags of frozen cherries for sale at Lidl. I’ve often banged on about the nutritiousness, convenience and value for money of frozen blueberries… well, the same goes for cherries.

Making a sweet pastry case | H is for Home Sweet pastry case with baking beans | H is for Home

To give the pie a bit of a twist, I made a sweet almond pastry – a classic, complimentary flavour to cherries.

Spooning cherry filling into a pastry case | H is for Home

The vibrant red fruit makes for a very attractive dish.

Top of a home-made cherry pie | H is for Home

The combination of buttery pastry, tangy fruit and cold cream – truly delicious! What’s your favourite fruit pie?

Click here to save my recipe to Pinterest.

Cherry pie

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes

Number of servings: 6

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Cherry pie

Ingredients

    For the filling

  • 500g/17½oz frozen cherries (de-stoned)
  • 150g/5¼oz caster sugar

    • For the pastry

  • 150g/5¼oz plain flour
  • 50g/1¾oz ground almonds
  • 20g/¾oz caster sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • 100g/3½oz cold butter, cubed
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2-3tbsp ice-cold water

    • To finish

  • A little milk to brush the pastry top
  • 1tbsp flaked almondsHome-made cherry pie ingredients

Method

  1. In a large saucepan over a low heat, add the frozen cherries and 125g caster sugar. Stir carefully, occasionally until the sugar has fully dissolved and the cherries have thawed. Set aside to cool completely
  2. In a food processor bowl, add the flour, ground almonds, sugar and salt. Pulse a couple of times to combine.
  3. Add the butter and yolk and pulse 6-12 times until it reaches a breadcrumb texture
  4. Add the ice-cold water, one tablespoon at a time, pulsing a couple of times between each addition until the texture begins to turn a bit lumpier
  5. Empty the contents of the food processor bowl on to the middle of a 'cross' of two sheets of cling film. Use the cling film to bring together the pastry into a flattened disc. Chill in the fridge for an hour
  6. Preheat the oven to 175ºC/350ºF/Gas mark 4
  7. After the hour, divide the pastry into two uneven pieces - ? and ?s. Put the smaller piece back into the fridge
  8. Grease a 25cm/10" pie dish. Set aside
  9. Roll out the larger piece on a floured work surface into a circular shape and carefully push in down into the bottom and sides of the greased pie dish. Trim around the edge so that there's a ½cm overhang as there will be a little shrinkage
  10. Cover the pie crust with a piece of parchment, cover with baking beans and blind bake in the centre of the oven for 12-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely
  11. Remove the smaller piece of pastry from the fridge and roll out into a round, slightly larger than the top of the pie dish
  12. Fill the pie crust with the cooked cherry filling and some of the syrup
  13. Brush the top edge of the baked & cooled pie crust with a little water and cover with the pastry top. Trim and softly press the pastry lid into the pie crust
  14. Brush the top with a little milk and sprinkle the flaked almonds over the top
  15. Cook for 30-40 minutes or until the top of the pie is golden brown
  16. Remove from the oven and cool for a few minutes before slicing and serving with cream or ice cream