Cherries
Oh, January. It’s the time of year for good intentions to be born and fizzled by the 31st, like your resolution to eat better or move your body more or detox or quit drinking (gasp! I just read about this thing- it’s an actual thing- called Dry January, and then promptly made another White Russian. If […]
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Have you seen ‘Still Alice’? Yeah well, I might have early onset Alzheimers like that character with the red hair who won the Academy Award. (I’m not even joking- I can’t remember her name right now. Reinforcing my point.) I was at the store yesterday morning and bought cashews and a bar of white chocolate […]
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Chocolate and cherry. Sigh. It really is a classic combo, but just lesser known on the whole rung of Famous Chocolate Combinations (you know- the ladder where almond, mint, peanut butter and caramel kind of rule). Cherry is kind of down there with orange and raspberry, but no less worthy of being paired with the King […]
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It’s fun to cheat sometimes, isn’t it? (Except in marriages, I suppose. Or as a med student taking an exam in a really important course that might matter one day- like, say, the one called “How To Not Kill People”.) But when it comes to baking, cheating has low stakes. Most of the time no […]
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So I decided that one of the most classic holiday cookies I make needed to go on a vacation. To the tropics. I bake icebox cookies every year, fondly chopping up the red and green candied cherries while humming songs about Santa. But this year I just couldn’t do the same-old. This year I wanted […]
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I have always wondered how to make these jelly candies, and now that I’ve made them I kind of wish I didn’t know how. Why, you might ask? Because they are immensely easy, and immensely freaking amazing. And now I have another thing I can just whip up and eat too much of. Hm. (Seriously- […]
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Chocolate + cherry = unique + good, but maybe not for everyone. You either like it or you don’t. If you don’t like it, move on to something more boring like my most excellent Classic Shortbread Cookie. If you do like the combo, then read on, partner. There used to be a chocolate candy with […]
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These bars have Christmas written all over them. And it’s not just because they’re covered in pink frosting (which is a bit festive, I guess- but just as likely to be found at a baby shower or small girl child’s birthday party, if you want to get technical about it). These little buggers are […]
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Okay, so I didn’t just make these bars because I made homemade maraschino cherries (and therefore have a crapload of them hanging around- let’s face it- how many cocktails with maraschino cherries can a girl take in a two week window?)- I made these bars because any kind of dessert with a shortbread crust and […]
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Really?
Yes.
I never set out to make maraschino cherries, but fell into it when The Husband and I sat reading our “Raising the Bar” book and keenly observed that the cocktails I gravitated towards called for the little cherry buggers. If there’s anything I know about maraschino cherries, it’s that they are necessary when making Cherry Chew Bars (I’ll so post the recipe near Christmas, when I actually make them), and that the ingredients are revolting. Like most things in a jar in the supermarket. (Did you know that even pickles have sodium benzoate, my new “I refuse to eat anything with that in it” preservative of the moment?)
So the book extolled the virtues of homemade maraschino cherries, and while I’ll realistically have like 2 or 3 cocktails this whole summer that might actually require them, I was on a mission. (It totally helped that the recipe recommended serving the cherries with ice cream or toasted pound cake. Nice.)
These are better as they age, so don’t think you’ll make them today and serve them tonight over your vanilla Ben & Jerry’s (or you could, if you wanted, I don’t mean to boss you around). But the magic of the maraschino comes from patience, and more patience. You’re supposed to let them steep in their sugary goodness for at least 24 hours. So get cracking now, and you’ll have them for dessert tomorrow night (or for that drink, right?).
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What says love better than a heart-shaped cookie?
(Well, a heart-shaped cake probably says I Love You more than a heart-shaped cookie does, but cookies can be given to neighbors and co-workers and people you are just starting to date without scaring them.)
So if you’re looking for a festive Valentine’s Day treat, look no further. Your loved ones will love them (and therefore love you more), your co-workers will eat them up (and appreciate that you thought of them in an appropriately platonic way), and if you’re just baking for yourself, then good for you- you’ll love them too.
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Sometimes fruit calls out to you in the grocery store, when it’s impossibly fresh, just asking to be baked into a double buttery crust. When cherries are in season, heed that voice. Even though they are as expensive as hell.
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