A Very Cherry Discovery

Yesterday I gave my friend a tour of Wegman’s Market from a gluten free point of view. She recently realized she was having issues with gluten and is in that difficult time of figuring out what is safe to eat… and what is NOT safe to eat! It was wonderful to walk along with her, chatting, and sharing my information. She’s a comfortable friend… the sort of person with whom grocery shopping together feels perfectly natural.

As we walked into the produce section, I glanced at the lovely cherries once again (see my post entitled “Cherries, Cherries Everywhere…” for more info), but sighed to myself. My last endeavor was, to say the least, slightly aggravating. The recipe itself was simple. It was the process of removing each and every pit from those juicy cherries that drove me batty. I ended up with a beautiful cherry crisp… and grossly stained fingers and fingernails.

So as I glanced at the cherries with my friend, I quickly dismissed the idea of attempting another cherry dessert. Sure, my husband loves them… and I love to make things he loves. But the labor and staining from the last dessert still lingered in my mind. Slowly, my eyes wandered over to the barrel next to the cherries. There, tucked in the back of the barrel was a sign that read: “Cherry Pitter, $12.99.”

Life is not the same, folks.

I’m not huge on kitchen gadgets. I like a good, sharp knife. Measuring cups and spoons. Once in a while I’ll get out the old garlic press instead of mincing my garlic by hand. But I can honestly say that if you are a cherry lover… you must go right now (wait – finish reading first) and get yourself a cherry pitter.

My handy dandy new little friend pops that pit out like it’s nobody’s business. It literally took a sliver of the amount of time it took me last time to pit and cut up four cups of cherries. In fact, this time my 7-year-old daughter did it for me… and it STILL took only a sliver of the amount as last time.

Run. Now. Buy yourself a cherry pitter… and some cherries, while you're at it. And since you'll need a reason to use your brand new cherry pitter... how about a Cherry Cobbler?

Cherry Cobbler

1 ½ cups plus 1 ½ Tbsp gluten free all-purpose flour (I used King Arthur brand)

¾ tsp xanthan gum

1 ½ cups sugar, divided

¼ tsp salt

1 ½ tsp baking powder

¾ tsp cinnamon

1 egg, beaten

1 ½ sticks butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 ½ cups milk

4 cups of pitted cherries, cut in half

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together the 1 ½ cups of flour, xanthan gum, ¾ cup of sugar, salt, baking powder and cinnamon. Whisk in the egg, melted butter, vanilla and milk until smooth.

In a medium bowl, stir together the cherries, remaining ¾ cup of sugar and 1 ½ Tbsp of flour. Dump the cherries into the baking pan and spread evenly.

Pour the batter evenly over the cherries.

Bake until slightly browned on top, about 45-50 minutes. Cool 10-15 minutes, then dust with powdered sugar. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream… or plain!