Cherry Cookie Cups

As you know, I have 11 pounds of cherries!

Man oh man, my family is quite the bunch of pickers.

I think it is the buckets...you feel the need to fill them up.

I know what you are thinking.  How in the world is this girl going to de-pit all those cherries?  By hand?  That would take hours, right?  Well, the secret to this cherry picking farm is....
drum roll please...
they have a pitting machine!  No way!  Yes way, the machine does it all for you!
So 11 pounds...just a drop in the bucket. 

First you rinse all those cherries up and then soak them in a bucket of water for 10 minutes.

Check out this marvelous machine...

The cherries get poured into the top.

The machine is turned on and magically it depits each and every cherry, pouring them out at the bottom.

Is that not amazing or what?  Who knew?

So what did I make with all those depitted cherries?
Check out yesterday's Cherry French Toast Casserole.

I also made a tried and true...

Cherry Cookie Cups

Just a little sugar cookie cup filled with sweet cherries.  It's almost embarrasing as to how easy these are to make, but they look so pretty and taste great too!

Ingredients:

1 refrigerated sugar cookie dough tube

1 1/2 cups tart cherries (fresh or frozen that has been thawed)

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp almond extract

shortening for greasing muffin pan

pieces of fresh mint

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease muffin pan.

Open the refrigerated sugar cookie dough tube.  Slice 3/4" pieces and roll each piece into a ball.  Place in greased muffin pan.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until light golden brown.

Remove from oven and use a wooden spoon to gently poke a whole into the cookie.  Careful not to break the bottom.  Cool for 5 minutes, then carefully remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

While the cookie cups are cooling, place the cherries in a saucepan.  Add the sugar and cook for about 10-12 minutes.  Remove from heat and add almond extract.  Once cooled, pour into cookie cups and serve with little pieces of fresh mint.

Cherry Cookie Cups printable recipe

Cute little cherry cups just waiting to be eaten. They have just enough juice that soaks into the cookie to make the combo really yummy.  Cherry and almond flavor are just heavenly.  I think you will really like these cookie cups.

Celebrate the little things (like a mechancial cherry pitter) that make life sweet,

Christine

Linking up with Weary Chef, Cooking On The Front Burners, Skip to My Lou, Inside Bru Crew Life,
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Lady Behind The Curtain, Morsels of Life and Your Homebased Mom.