Sweet Cherry Pie

It seems like most cherry pies are made with sour cherries or canned cherry pie filling, which make a fine cherry pie, but here is a recipe for a little sweeter cherry pie using frozen cherries.

Sweet Cherry Pie:

Ingredients:
Pie crust for a 2 layer 9 inch pie
5-6 cups frozen dark red cherries
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour

Directions:

1.  Place frozen cherries in a large bowl. If time permits, let them thaw for about an hour.  This will help them absorb the flour and sugar better.

2.  Preheat oven to 350°F.

3.  Mix sugar and flour in a small bowl. Pour over cherries and mix to blend. Let the mixture sit for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  (If the flour/sugar mixture isn't all absorbed just pour the extra over the cherries in the pie crust.)

4.  Pour into pie crust and spread evenly.

5.  Roll out top pie crust and place on top of berries.  A lattice crust is always very pretty for fruit pies or you can use small cookie cutters like I did on this one to make cute cut-outs.  If you don't feel like doing anything fancy you can just do a plain top and cut some slits in the top so steam can get out.  Fold the top crust under the edge of the bottom crust and pinch tight to make a pretty border.

6.  Bake at 350 for about an hour or until the crust is golden brown and the juices are bubbling.  If the edges start to get too brown cover them with foil for the remaining cook time.

*Pies can leak over the edge so put a cookie sheet or liner on an oven rack below the pie to catch the mess.*

Sugar Cookie Bars

You know when you get that craving for a nice thick, soft sugar cookie but you don't want to go through the hassle of rolling and cutting and making a huge mess?  Well, these are your answer.  You make the dough, press it into the pan, and you're done!  You can frost these with buttercream or cream cheese frosting.  If you don't like frosting just sprinkle them with colored sugar sprinkles before baking.

Sugar Cookie Bars:

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
5 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Combine flour, salt, and baking soda in a bowl and set aside.  In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until nice and fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla and mix well.  Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture a little at a time, until completely combined.  Spray a 13x18 baking sheet with cooking spray.  Press dough into pan making sure it's even all the way across.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until light golden brown across the top.  Cool completely before frosting. 

*For softer cookies, do not overbake*