Cherry Crumble

We were at the grocery store Sunday and Farmall Man spotted a big ol' bag of fresh cherries...I never really recall seeing fresh cherries in the grocery store and have quite frankly never made anything with them. Well, we came home with three pounds of cherries. Now...what to do with all of these things... Sure FM was going to eat some fresh, but what about the rest of them? Well I googled a few recipes to get some ideas, then I made my own concoction last night, and let me tell you it was Ooey Gooey Good! 

It was gooey and warm and just right last night with a dollop of homemade vanilla ice cream! See that ice cream melting while I hurried to take a picture!

I managed to use up 4 cups of the fresh cherries and let me warn you now - if you are like me and have never pitted fresh cherries - protect your work surface and your hands! My fingers were BLACK last night when I finished cooking! Now I know and don't say I didn't warn ya.

Fresh Cherry Crumble Recipe

In sauce pan add:

 4 cups of fresh cherries - pitted and halved

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

Bring mixture to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently. Simmer about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, for the topping, in a small bowl combine:

4 tablespoons of butter - cut into small pieces

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 flour

1/2 to 1 teaspoon cinnamon -more or less based on your preference

1/2 cup chopped pecans

After cherries have simmered 10 minutes, pour into a 8x8 baking dish. Sprinkle topping over ooey, gooey cherry mixture. Bake in 350 degree oven till golden brown and bubbly, about 25 minutes. Just for precaution, I placed a piece of foil underneath my dish, but fortunately, it did not bubble over.

All my measurements were approximate - that's just the way I cook! We try to limit our sugar, so I didn't put a whole lot in the recipe. You can put more if that's your fancy!

And let me tell you, with a scoop of store-bought "homemade vanilla" ice cream, it was good, if I say so myself!

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