Wednesday, February 26, 2025

May I Make a Recommendation?

 Last Thursday, I learned from reading a few blogs that February 20 is known as National Cherry Pie Day.  Who knew?  I'm assuming that is a tribute to President George Washington since we now combine his birthday and Abraham Lincoln's birthday for President's Day.  

We had actually planned to go out for a meal on that day, but due to ❄❅❆ falling from the sky, we thought better of it.  Especially since the restaurant we had in mind was in a neighboring county in MD where my friend Karen lives.  It's at a higher elevation and they always have even more snow that we do here.

I digress.

The plan was that Strong Heart was going to have a piece of cherry pie there to celebrate National Cherry Pie Day.  We seldom have sweet treats around here these days, and I wouldn't be having the pie anyway, since the restaurant does not do Gluten-Free desserts.

Since we weren't able to go out, and we really didn't need to have an entire cherry pie around here (I do know how to make gluten-free pie crust 😀), I came up with an alternative idea.   Why not make brownies and use the 1/3 bag of frozen cherries I had left over from when I made cherry jam and make a cherry sauce for on top of the brownie?

This is where my recommendation comes in...



This Gluten Free Ultimate Fudge Brownie Mix by King Arthur Baking Company is the best brownie one could make, in my humble opinion.  I have a lot of from scratch brownie recipes and I've also tried other brownie mixes from the store, but both Strong Heart and I find this one to be the best brownie I can make.

I took the cherries from the freezer that I'd had left over from when I did the cherry jam recently because it was only a partial bag...maybe 1/3 of a quart bag, put the juice in the saucepan, added maybe 1/4 cup of sugar, a touch of water, and brought it to a boil.  Then I added a mixture of 1 T. of Clear Jel (the cook kind) and 2 T. water to the cherries and stirred until I had a nice consistency for a sauce.  When I took it off the heat, I added a drop (or two) of Almond Extract and stirred that in.

I served the brownie with a spoonful of cherry sauce.  I'm sorry that I didn't think to take a picture of one before serving it.  So, I will share this picture from Pinterest with you to give you the idea.




24 comments:

  1. I love cherries. 🍒 There is a place in Northern Michigan called The Cherry Hut that ships their pies and jams. Well worth it if you ever get a hankering.

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    1. We do, too, Sandi. My husband grew up in orchard country and it's only about two hours from where we currently live, so each summer he tries to go to the orchard and pick enough for several quarts that we can put in the freezer. Thank you for telling me about The Cherry Hut. I will definitely check them out as well. xx

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  2. A great idea! I'm a fan of cherries anyway and the two tastes would be wonderful together. Well done.

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    1. Thanks, my friend! It's kind of like the Black Forest Cake vibe only in a smaller portion. :)

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  3. I've never seen this brownie mix. Is it available at your store?
    Anyway - that was good and creative thinking on your part!

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    1. Yes, Kroger sells it here, but I have also purchased it at a Mennonite Bulk Food store that we visit. The least expensive place I've gotten it from is in my Thrive Market box. And of course, there's the option to order it from King Arthur. It is a little expensive, but since we rarely have anything like that anymore, it's something I still do once in a while. And thank you for your kind words. xx

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  4. This is good to know since my sister is GF. I just bought a trader joe's brownie mix that is gf but who knows what it will taste like :)

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    1. I've never tried a Trader Joe's GF brownie mix, so it may be just as tasty as King Arthur's. Actually, Karen, I have found that anything I need in the way of GF, whether it's recipes or ingredients, I've always found King Arthur's to be the best. They seem to have the GF stuff down to a tee. They have a Measure for Measure (all-purpose type substitute) that works really well, too.

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  5. What a very clever way to honor the day and enjoy a delicious looking dessert. I've heard a lot about Kind Author...I'll have to check this out. You did good!!

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    1. Why, thank you, Shug! We really did enjoy the treat.xx

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  6. Where were you going to go to Casselman's?
    I have a great brownie recipe that I always make. I should try adding some cherries or maybe strawberries.
    Your brownies sure look good though.

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    1. You guessed it, my friend. I still remember the first time that Carroll and I met you and Ken there. We should do that again soon.

      I have a really good brownie recipe too that my daughter gave me. But I haven't converted it to a gluten free version...but this box mix is SO good.

      Thanks for your kind words. xx

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  7. I love cherries and it would be even better with a brownie.

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    1. It was definitely a hit with my husband, too, Bill. It's kind of like a Black Forest cake...only in miniature form. :)

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  8. Thank you for your recommendation.

    All the best Jan

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  9. It sounds delicious. I've never had cherry pie but I love chocolate brownies.

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  10. O my! That sounds so delicious💗💗💗. I need to find Clear Jel when I go shopping.

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    1. Thank you, GM! You could easily use corn starch and water rather than Clear Jel...just something to thicken up the sauce a bit. I purchase my Clear Jel at a Mennonite Bulk Food store that we go to.

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  11. King Arthur has some of the best gluten-free mixes. I just used their chocolate cake mix for Valentine's Day cupcakes (I add a bit more water than it calls for plus a pudding cup if we have one on hand).

    I didn't think I'd like chocolate and cherries together, but Mittu recently made a black forest chocolate cheesecake that was good. I don't think I'd go for cherries in my chocolate normally, unless in a situation like that where someone else made it.

    I'm glad you came up with a good substitute for cherry pie. Isn't it funny how there's a day to celebrate so many things? How fun!

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    1. I agree. Any of their mixes that I have tried have been really good. My daughter -in-law has said the same thing about the cake mixes. We like the cherry and chocolate combination.

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