Susan Rae, Romantic Suspense Author

Independence Day Super Simple Door County Cherry Recipes

Hi, the independence day Day Blog Hop is over.  And the winner is….Mac! I hope you all enjoyed the hop.  I’ll keep these recipes on for anyone who wants them. 

The 4^th of July Holiday is upon us, and let’s face it–this summer is hot and steamy—much too hot and steamy to spend time slaving away in the kitchen over some crazy convoluted recipe.  I don’t know about you, but I’d prefer spending time by the pool, or at the beach, reading a sizzling hot summer romance!

But it’s also time for family gatherings and parties.  So, I’ve put together some of my super simple recipes that will wow your guests and still leave you plenty of time and energy to enjoy your company or get through your summer reading list.  Suzi’s Super Simple Wow Recipes are inspired by my trips to Door County, Wisconsin and feature Door County Cherries, but you can substitute any cherry pie filling in them if you like—they just won’t taste quite as tartly sweet and delicious!

Ahh…Door County…very beautiful and inspiring—so much so that I feature the setting in my own new sizzling hot romantic suspense novel, freefall.  (You can click HERE to find out more about freefall and read an excerpt.  I highly suggest it for that poolside or beach read! Buy Links:  MusaPublishing.com ; Amazon.com ; Barnes and Noble.com)

Door County Tranquility

A Tasty Sampler of Some of Door County’s Best!

From the panoramic vistas of Green Bay looking out from the bluffs on the western side of the peninsula, to the quaint little towns and shops hugging the inlets and bays, Door County forms an idyllic yet dramatic backdrop for the intrigue in freefall—as well as a great place to spend a vacation.  My husband and I make it a point to spend at least a few days up there each year, and on our way home, we always stop at one of the roadside farm markets and stock up on pie filling, dried cherries, and many of the other cherry goodies offered.  If you can’t get to Door County, don’t despair!  The good news is, they are available on-line.  The bad news is, this year’s crop is expected to be just 5% of normal, due to the extreme heat in early March, then the following freeze which killed the early blossoms.  So, if you want some of these delicious cherries, you may want to order them now while some of last year’s crop is still available.  I’ve included two of the links at the end of the blog.

Now, onto the recipes—and remember, I said they were super easy!

My #1 Wow Easy Recipe?

Brandied Cherry Cheesecake

2 cups of Door County Cherry Pie Filling (about half of a 39.7 oz. jar)

½ cup of Brandy (your favorite will do, we like E & J)

1 Plain or New York Style Cheesecake—your favorite premade purchased cheesecake. Eli’s, Cheesecake Factory, even Sara Lee will do!  (Of course, if you want to bake your own, go right ahead.  Cook books are filled with those recipes as well as on-line.  Me, I prefer lounging by the pool!)

Measure the two cups of pie filling into a saucepan.  Add the ½ cup of brandy.  Bring to a simmer over low heat.  Simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally; some of the brandy will reduce.  Remove from heat and spoon lavishly over individual slices of cheesecake.  Serve with a smile!  Trust me, your guests will love this.  (This is also great spooned over your favorite vanilla ice cream.  Even better when your daughter brings home homemade Vanilla Bean ice cream!)

Door County Cherry Pie

1 Jar Door County Cherry Filling (39.7 oz.)

1 pkg. Pillsbury refrigerated pre-made Pie Crust which contains 2 crusts for a nine-inch pie (I like these crusts because they bake up nicely and taste and look homemade, without the mess. I buy 3 or 4 pkgs. at a time and freeze them so I have them available for impromptu dinner parties.)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Follow directions on the pie-crust package for thawing and unrolling the pie crust.  Place one crust in the bottom of a 9” pie tin.  Pour cherry pie filling on top.  Smooth out.  Place top crust over filling.  Crimp together edges with a fork.  Pierce top crust with a fork at approximately 1 inch intervals.  Cover edge with 2 to 3 inch strip of aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning: remove foil last 15 minutes of baking.  Bake for appx. 35 to 45 min. until crust is golden brown and juice begins to bubble through the piercings in crust.  Cool for at least two hours before serving.  Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.   Mmmm…mmm…good!

Now if you want to make the pie look even more impressive, cut the top crust into ¾ inch strips before placing it on the pie, basket weave the strips across the top of the pie, then trim and crimp the edges.

Door County Cherry Crisp

 1 Jar Door County Cherry Pie

½ cup all-purpose flour

½ cup oats

¾ teaspoon cinnamon

¾ teaspoon nutmeg

1/3 cup of butter or margarine, softened

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray 8 x 8 x 2 square pan with cooking oil.  Pour pie filling into pan.  Mix remaining ingredients thoroughly.  Sprinkle over filling.   Bake 30 minutes until topping is golden brown.  Serve warm and, again, with ice cream if you like! Or light cream.

Yes I do like ice cream.  Now I have to go do some laps in the pool so I can enjoy these scrumptious treats!

Copyright © 2012 by Susan Rae

 Door County Cherry links:  http://www.woodorchard.com/  http://www.doorcountycherryhut.com/  http://www.orchardcountry.com/door_county_cherries.html

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