I had a bunch of cherries and decided to do an Abundant Crop: Cherries feature for the rest of June.  I hope you enjoy this recipe and the next.  This recipe is adapted from the Strawberries & Cream Dessert Squares recipe that I made back in April.

Cherries & Cream Dessert Squares
[my recipe, adapted from Strawberries & Cream Dessert Squares via Betty Crocker (in a 2008 newsletter)]

Crust

• 1 cup Butter (or Margarine)
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1 Egg
• 2 tsp. Baking Powder
• 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 tsp. Almond Extract
• 3 cups Flour

Filling

• 1 cup Vanilla Baking Chips
• 1 package (8 oz.) Cream Cheese

Topping

• 4 cups pitted & chopped Cherries (I used 2 types, Bing & Rainier)
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
• 1/3 cup Water

Heat the oven to 375 degrees and grease your 15″ x 10″ or 13″ x 9″ pan.  In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar.  Beat in egg and extracts followed by baking soda and flour, one cup at a time.  The dough should be very stiff, it is best to blend the last cup in by hand.  Press it into your pan and bake until light golden brown — about 15 to 20 minutes. Let it cool completely (this takes around 30 minutes).

Once cool, make your filling.  Beat the cream cheese, then pour in the melted chips (just use the microwave in 30 second intervals to melt the vanilla chips).  Spread this over the crust and then stick the pan in the fridge.

For the topping — in a small bowl, crush 1 cup of the cherries.  Then, in a 2 quart saucepan, mix the sugar and cornstarch.  Stir in crushed cherries and water.  Cook over medium heat, making sure you stir constantly, until it boils and thickens.  If it is not red enough for you (it was for me), you can add food coloring at this point.  If you are impatient like me, skip the next step (waiting 10 minutes) and just stir in the rest of the cherries.  Put over filling and refrigerate for at least one hour.  They recommend serving within 4 hours, but we ate it the next day and it was still delicious.

Let me know what you think of this recipe!