21 Top Cherry Recipes

Clafouti—a simple French dish made with fruit and a not-too-sweet, custard-like batter—can be served as a dessert or part of a brunch menu.

This simple summer salad is a healthy entree for lunch or a light supper. Tangy goat cheese plays off the sweetness of cherries.

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Spoon this cherry salsa over cornmeal-crusted, pan-fried fish for a bright summer dinner. 

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This rosy version of a classic gin rickey has a lower ratio of gin, so it drinks breezier—not boozier. 

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Traverse City's famous tart cherries get double billing in this sundae—baked in the brownies and spooned on top. But there's another local fruit hiding here. Chef Adam Raupp of Mission Table restaurant adds a little Riesling to the sauce.

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These 5-inch-diameter cookies work well as a summer picnic or potluck dessert. But you can also use the recipe to make smaller cookies that are still impressive—just use a 1/3-cup measure to portion the dough for 15 or 16 cookies.

Oatmeal cookie mix speeds prep time for these tart cherry bar cookies.

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The cherryness in this pie doesn't hide behind other flavors—it even draws an accent from the lemon juice's hint of tartness. A sprinkling of sugar bakes onto the top crust for a sweet crunch. The recipe comes from Achatz Handmade Pie Company in Chesterfield, Michigan.

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Cherries dot this custardlike French dessert baked in a skillet. Serve it warm with a dollop of creme fraiche.

This quick-and-easy blender drink, from the Michigan Cherry Committee, combines cherries, milk, yogurt, blueberries or raspberries, juice concentrate, honey and vanilla.

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Carol Schneider of Wausau, Wisconsin, brought home a blue ribbon when she entered these cookies at the Wisconsin State Fair. The recipe combines white and semisweet chocolate with dried cherries and walnuts.

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Wrapping the crepes into fruit-filled bundles means that you can assemble them ahead, store them in the fridge, and then zap them in the microwave before serving. But for a speedy variation, just fold the crepes into quarters and top with the cherries and ice cream.

Related: How to Make Crepes at Home

This creative slow-cooker dessert takes advantage of several shortcut ingredients, including muffin mix and canned cherry pie filling, for an easy dessert.

Red raspberries and blueberries join ruby-red cherries in Cherry Berry Berry Pie, a favorite from Sweetielicious Bakery Cafe in DeWitt, Michigan. The trio yields a dark, rich filling crowned with a crunchy streusel topping.

To remove pits from the dark sweet cherries used in this recipe, try a cherry pitter (available from cookware shops or catalogs). Otherwise, halve the cherries, then pry the pits out with the tip of a knife.

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Zesty lemon peel adds zing to this fruit bar cookie; almond extract and brown sugar give it extra sweetness.

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Choose your favorite dried fruit—cherries, cranberries, raisins or apricots—to add to this lemon-glazed quick bread loaf. Slice it for breakfast or serve anytime during the day as a snack.

Chocolate chips in a cherry crisp! Why didn't we think of this earlier? Whole wheat flour lends a nutty flavor to the rich topping—and vanilla ice cream is the perfect finishing touch.

This yeasty coffee cake will remind you of treats that might have been served on your grandparents' farm table. It takes time because it's a yeast-leavened dough, but there's no kneading required.

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A humble pie if you ever saw one, this unassuming potluck star has an almondy crust and a yogurt-based filling that mimics the acidic tang of a phosphate. Amaretti (Italian almond cookies) are available at large supermarkets. You can substitute graham cracker crumbs.

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This layered dessert combines cream cheese, powdered sugar and whipped dessert topping over vanilla ice cream in a graham cracker crust. When you're ready to serve the pie, spoon on cherry pie filling, and drizzle with fudge topping.