Cherry Delight

If there was ever a holiday worth mentioning, my mother was always there to celebrate it, generally with an appropriate dinner and equally appropriate decorations. My mother did love a good party. Initially this cherry dessert was served on George Washington's Birthday (you know, considering the whole cherry tree thing and all), but it later became the accepted Valentine's Day dessert (often made in a heart-shaped pan) because of the lovely red color, the succulent cherries, and probably because two parties right in a row was a bit much to handle.

My mother will have been gone three years this Thursday. I hadn't thought about this dessert in a long time, but when I did, I had to make it. There are a lot of Cherry Delight recipes on the web, but mother's differed because of the inclusion of the chopped pecans, and light flavoring of the cherry pie filling. It is a lovely, tasty, seasonably romantic dessert that holds a lot of good memories for me. I'm heading out to take a couple of pieces to dad.

Cherry Delight

Crust:  

10 rectangular graham crackers, finely crushed

½ c. confectioners' sugar

¼ c. butter, melted

 

 First Layer:

1 (8-oz.) pkg. cream cheese, room temperature

1 (8-oz.) container whipped topping

1 c. confectioners' sugar

½ c. chopped pecans

Second Layer:

1 (12-oz.) can cherry pie filling

½ t. almond extract

Pinch cinnamon 

Mix together graham cracker crumbs, confectioners' sugar, and butter in a medium bowl until thoroughly combined; press into an 8x8-inch pan.

Whisk cream cheese, whipped topping, and confectioners' sugar in a separate medium bowl until smooth; spread over graham cracker crust. Sprinkle nuts evenly over cream cheese mixture.

Pour cherry pie filling into yet a third medium bowl and stir in the extract and cinnamon. Pour this over the cream cheese layer.

Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.

PRINT RECIPE

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Cherry Pie Coffeecake Bars

I’m not the biggest of pie fans, but I’ve always liked cherry pie, because of the cherries.  As a kid, I’d leave the crust and just scoop out the cherry deliciousness, much to my mother’s dismay.  She was known for her flaky crusts, you see, and I think this was somewhat of an insult.  When I saw a recipe for Cherry Pie Bars on the Recipe Critic’s blog, I knew they were in my future.  What I didn’t know is that I don’t own the 15”x10”x1” pan called for in the original recipe.  There was an option to make them in a 9”x13” pan, so that’s the path I took.  What I ended up with were not the bar cookies for which I’d hoped, but instead a moist and delicious cherry-filled coffee cake.  So I’ve renamed the recipe to suit the pan and end results.  I suspect this would look very pretty on a Christmas brunch buffet.

Cherry Pie Coffeecake Bars

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. almond extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 (21-ounce) can cherry pie filling

Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract
2 Tbsp. milk

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Cream together butter and sugar.  Add eggs and beat well.  Beat in extracts.

In a separate bowl combine flour and salt.  Add to the creamed mixture.  Mix until just combined.  Do not over mix.

Grease a 9”×13” pan.  Spread 3 cups batter along the bottom of the pan.  Top with pie filling and spread to the edges with an offset spatula.  Drop remaining batter in dollops on top of pie filling.

Bake for 35-42 minutes or until toothpick comes clean.  Cool in pan on wire rack.  Combine glaze ingredients and drizzle over the top.

This post is linked to: 

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Try a New Recipe Tuesday

Tasty Tuesdays

Inspire Me Tuesday

Full Plate Thursday

Foodie Friday

Sugar and Spice

Sunday Sweeties