I’ve been hearing about this dessert for maybe 2 years now and I sort of blew it off…I don’t particurarly care for cherries. I always pick the cherries off anythng I’m eating and sit it aside for someone else if they want it. I was recently asked to put together a receipe for the holidays and see if we like it. Turns out, it’s really good – coming from someone that doesnt’ like cherries. Anyway, enjoy!
Ingredients:
Crust:
- 1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Cream Cheese Mixture:
- 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened (full fat or reduced fat)
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 cups whipping cream (or 8 ounce container of Cool Whip)
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cherry Filling:
- 1 (21 oz.) can cherry pie filling (I use premium for more cherries)
Directions:
Crust:
- In a bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and melted butter. Mix with a fork until crumbs are moistened.
- Set aside around 2-3 tablespoons of crumbs to sprinkle on the top.
- Press crumb mixture into the bottom of a 9×9-inch pan.
Cream Cheese Mixture:
- With an electric mixer, cream together softened cream cheese, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, and almond extract until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, whip the whipping cream, 3 tablespoons powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until stiff peaks form.
- By hand, mix together whipped cream and cream cheese mixture until well combined.
Assemble the layers:
- Spread half the cream cheese/whipped cream mixture evenly over the crust.
- Drop cherry pie filling by large spoonfuls on top of the cream cheese layer and gently spread.
- Top cherry layer with the remaining cream cheese/whipped cream mixture,. covering the cherry layer completely.
- Sprinkle the top with the 2-3 tablespoons reserved graham cracker crumbs.
- Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight before serving.
