Table Talk » Life's a bowl of roasted cherries

As soon as I see the pick-your-own strawberry signs go up around town, I start dreaming of local cherries. Until about 10 years ago, I had no idea that cherries grew in Londonderry, but one day I stumbled upon the fact that we have two orchards in town where we can pick cherries: Sunnycrest Farm and Elwood Orchards. I've wanted to keep it a secret, but it is too good to not share.

Sweet cherries have long been my favorite fruit. When I was a kid, the first cherry sales at the grocery stores seemed to coincide with the end of school. My mom also loves cherries. We celebrated the start of summer with my mom buying a huge amount of cherries; everyone sat around the table and munched on them until our fingers were stained red. It was one of the few times when we didn't have to observe normal table manners.

While waiting not-so-patiently for cherry picking to start, I started thinking about cherry shortcake, probably because it was strawberry season and strawberry shortcake was mentioned everywhere. Strawberry shortcake is good, but I was fixated on cherry shortcake.

Another thing that was on my mind was Cherry Garcia ice cream, cherries and chocolate. Yum. The next thing I knew, I was making a Cherry Garcia-inspired Cherry Shortcake.

Roasting cherries is so easy and results in absolute deliciousness. Plus an added benefit is that the cherries are really easy to pit once roasted.

Oops, I forgot to take a picture of the pitted roasted cherries.

Roasted Cherries

7 cups cherries, stemmed but not pitted
1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat oven to 400F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Place cherries on baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat. Bake for 35 minutes. The cherries will soften and start to split. Remove the pan from the oven and set aside for 20-30 minutes to let the cherries cool. Once the cherries are cool, you can easily squeeze the pits from the cherries. Again, wear gloves, or your fingers will be stained. Scrape the cherry juice and the cherries from the pan into a bowl, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Actually, you can use any amount of cherries. Just toss them with a bit of olive oil. You'll end up with about 1/3 to 1/4 the volume of cherries that you start with. It was hard to resist eating them, but I really wanted cherry shortcake.

Cherry Shortcakes
Serves 10

You can make the chocolate chip shortcakes and the roasted cherry filling ahead. Cool the shortcakes completely and store them in a ziptop bag or a covered container. Store the roasted cherry filling in the refrigerator.

To serve, split the shortcakes and place the two halves on a plate. Top with a few tablespoons of the roasted cherry filling. Add a dollop of whipped cream.

Chocolate Chip Shortcakes

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
3/4 cup half and half

Preheat oven to 400F.

Place flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Whisk to evenly distribute the ingredients. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Mix in 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Stir in the half and half with a fork until the mixture is moistened and begins to hold together. Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead once or twice to pull it together. Pat the dough into a 1/2-3/4-inch thick disk and cut with 2-inch biscuit cutter. Knead the scraps to form another disk, to cut more cakes.

Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake 15-18 minutes until golden brown.

Remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack.

Makes 10 shortcakes.

Whipped Cream

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or kirsch (cherry liquer)

Whip cream until almost stiff. Add sugar and vanilla or kirsch; beat until cream holds peaks.

Posted July 7, 2009 4:49 PM in Kitchen Garden/Farmstand, Recipes

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3 Comment(s)

Cindy Barnard said… (on July 7, 2009 at 21:03 PM #)

OMG!!!
Is this legal?
Roasted cherries. Who would have thought?
Now I know that there isn't ANYTHING you can't roast and love.
You are amazing, Patti A.

Mary Beth Brinkerhoff said… (on July 8, 2009 at 14:52 PM #)

Patti, These look luscious! I must ask though.....what about a drizzle of chocolate ON the cherries! I may just have to try it!

Patti Shirley said… (on July 24, 2009 at 08:41 AM #)

Mmmm. Patti, I am so excited. Just yesterday I picked up another bag of cherries even though I have plenty at home- just couldn't resist. This is what I am making this weekend! Thanks.