Homemade Cherry Pie

HOMEMADE DINER CHERRY PIE
I'm taking time out of my super busy morning of listening to the warrior narrate the Peter Pan movie to bring you this delicious Cherry Pie recipe!

Life has taken a few major turns for my family over the last month so on top of now being a mom to 4 kids rather than just 2 and the fact that my computer decided to allow itself to be a victim of hackers and my iphone dying a slow painful death...I've been tech-free and busy for the last month. Thus no princess and warrior treats for you...sorry! The recipes have been written and the food has been baked and the belly's have been full and the pictures have been taken, I just haven't had a chance to share them with you. And now that I am back to the current decade of technology again and 3 of the 4 kids are at school...I'm visiting you, my dear friends!

There are several really good recipes that I can't wait to share with you but this one was on my mind since our last vacation. Last week when we were traveling, we ran across a Classic American Diner in a sophisticated lively downtown area. Superman and I were both intrigued and knew this would be a fun change up from our typical choices. Where can you go wrong with breakfast at 8:00pm, burgers, fries and milkshakes! It was too late, I wasn't going to have pie, but don't diners just make you think of pie? I think so! And I'm sure that their pie would be delish! But I'm not a canned pie filling girl. I like fresh cherries and not a lot of that gooey food coloring stuff. This was some good pie!

HOMEMADE DINER CHERRY PIE

Filling
6-7 cup fresh cherry's (I used Bing)
1/2 cup water
2 Tbl lemon juice
1 cup sugar
4 Tbl corn starch
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Heat oven to 350. Prepare double pie crust, either store bought or homemade. In a medium saucepan over medium heat add pitted cherries, lemon juice and sugar. In a small bowl stir the cornstarch into the water and stir until the cornstarch is dissolved then pour into the cherry mixture. Allow the mixture to come to a boil and the reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in almond extract and vanilla. Pour the cherries into the bottom crust and top with top crust. Loosely lay a piece of foil over the top of the crust and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

Top with vanilla ice cream and enjoy!

Warmly,
Mary

Carmel Cream Cheese Cup

Today is our first snow day! We are in the second day of November and have had a beautiful fall. As most of you know, I am a summer kind of gal, but there are good reasons to be excited about the first snow fall of the year...snuggling by the fire, cinnamon rolls and chili...just to name a couple! This recipe is another reason to get excited! It's a combination of a couple of my pastry faves - cinnamon rolls and cream cheese danish rolls. They are pretty wonderful, especially dipped in your favorite coffee!

CARMEL CREAM CHEESE CUPS

The Dough:
4 cups flour
1 pkg yeast
1 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 egg, beaten

1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

In a small sauce pan warm milk until steamy but not boiling. Remove from heat and allow to set 10 - 15 minutes. Stir in yeast and sugar and let set for 5 minutes. Stir in butter, salt and egg. Add flour one cup at a time dough is easy to handle. Knead dough on lightly floured surface for 5 minutes. Place in an oiled bowl, cover and set in a warm place to rise until doubled 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Heat oven to 400. Grease a muffin tin and set aside. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface. Roll into a large rectangle and brush with melted butter, and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Cut into 12 equal sized squares and form into the muffin tin cups. Set aside. Bake for 20 minutes, remove from the oven and set aside.

The Cream Cheese Filling:
1 1/2 pkg cream cheese, room temp
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 jar caramel ice cream topping
1 cup walnuts, chopped

Reduce oven to 350. In a small bowl beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Spoon into roll cups. Spoon 1 Tbl caramel topping over each cup and sprinkle with nuts. Bake for 20 more minutes.

Come join the fun at the My Baking Addiction and GoodLife Eats Holiday Recipe Swap sponsored by Red Star Yeast.

Enjoy!

Warmly,
Mary