Tuesday, February 10, 2015

No-Guilt Chocolate Cherries for Valentine's Day from author Cleo Coyle



There is an old joke about deciding
what to eat on February 14th...



Question:

"Honey, what are you making for Valentine's Day?"


Answer:

"Reservations."

Whether you're making reservations or a seven course meal, I have an insanely easy recipe for your consideration. 
It has very few calories; is absolutely delicious; and makes a fun, after-dinner sweet to serve with coffee, tea, or liqueurs.

And if you're not celebrating Valentine's Day, even better because these mock chocolate-covered cherries make a fantastic cheer-me-up treat any evening of the year. 
In fact, I ought to call these "Chocolate Cheeries"—and you're about to see why...
Cleo Coyle has a partner in 
crime-writing—her husband.
Learn about their books
by clicking here or here.


Cleo's Mock
Chocolate Cherries (Cheeries?)

I've made traditional chocolate-covered
cherries in the past, and even published a
recipe for the classic candy. (You can find
it in book #8 of our Coffeehouse Mysteries, 
Holiday Grind.)

This recipe came about during my testing for
the Black Forest Brownies in our newest entry, Once Upon a Grind.


Black Forest Brownies from the recipe section of
Once Upon a Grind: A Coffeehouse Mystery

During the recipe testing, I soaked cherries in various alcohols and liqueurs to see how the results would taste. In the end, I settled on traditional Kirsch (cherry brandy) or white rum for the Black Forest Brownies. And that recipe will work with fresh or frozen cherries as well as maraschino.

During those recipe tests, I was surprised to discover that soaking maraschino cherries in crème de cacao creates a pretty darn delicious mock chocolate covered cherry.

My husband, Marc, was skeptical. He didn't believe they would taste like a chocolate cherry. But he's a believer now...



Ingredients:

1 Jar Maraschino Cherries (with stems)
C
rème De Cacao

Directions: Open the jar of cherries and drain all the liquid, keeping the cherries intact and inside the jar. Pour the crème de cacao into the jar until the cherries are covered. Seal the jar and store in the refrigerator for 24 hours. The "cheeries" are now ready to cheer you up. 



Be sure to label the jar, especially if the grandkids are coming over. Spiked cherries on a hot fudge sundae sounds pretty darn amazing to me, but it's probably not a good idea for a five-year-old. 




Finally, if you are not making reservations and plan to cook a delicious meal this weekend, the crime-writing cooks of Mystery Lover' Kitchen have got you covered in our new Valentine's Day Page. You're bound to find something that tempts you into the kitchen—if not this particular weekend, then another, no doubt.

Happy 
Valentine's Day!




Stay cozy!

~ Cleo Coyle

New York Times bestselling author of
The Coffeehouse Mysteries





Friend me on facebook here. * Follow me on twitter here
Learn about my books here


* * *

Once Upon a Grind:
A Coffeehouse Mystery



* A Best Book of the Year
Reviewer's Pick -
 
King's River Life


* Top Pick! ~ RT Book Reviews

* Fresh Pick ~ Fresh Fiction

* A Mystery Guild Selection


Delicious recipes are also featured in my 14th 
culinary mystery, Once Upon a Grind, including...

* Black Forest Brownies 
* Cappuccino Blondies 
* Shrimp Kiev 
* Dr Pepper Glazed Chicken
* Silver Dollar Chocolate Chip Cookies
* "Fryer Tuck's" Ale-Battered Onion Rings
* Poor Man's Caviar 
* Caramel-Dipped Meltaways

...and many more recipes, including
a guide to reading coffee grinds...


See the book's
Recipe Guide (free PDF)

* * * 



Marc and I also write
The Haunted Bookshop
Mysteries 


Get a free title checklist,
with mini plot summaries, 

by clicking here. 






Or learn more about the
books and meet Jack Shepard,
our PI ghost 
by clicking here. 




Sign up for my Coffeehouse Newsletter here.
(Recipes, contests, videos, fun info)



* * * 

10 comments:

  1. OMG! I can eat those maraschino cherries right out of the jar---now with adding the cream de cacoa I'll be addicted to them.!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sue, we love maraschino cherries around here, too. We’ve also discovered that the happier the maraschinos are, the happier we are. Thank you for sharing your love of the bright red cherry in the sweet syrupy sauce!

      ~ Cleo

      Coffeehouse Mystery.com
      “Where coffee and crime are always brewing…”
      Cleo Coyle on Twitter
      www.CleoCoyleRecipes.com

      Delete
  2. What a fun idea, Cleo! Love those Valentine kitties, too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We love our Valentine kitties, too, Krista, though I have to confess they are not always such picture-perfect angels. Did I just hear a crash?!?

      ~ Cleo

      Coffeehouse Mystery.com
      “Where coffee and crime are always brewing…”
      Cleo Coyle on Twitter
      www.CleoCoyleRecipes.com

      Delete
  3. Can't wait to try the no-guilt chocolate cherries and LOVE the kitty picture! Happy Valentine's Day!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Happy Valentine's Day to you, Patricia. And I hope everyone here at Mystery Lovers' Kitchen gets that perfect Valentine, too.

      ~ Cleo

      Coffeehouse Mystery.com
      “Where coffee and crime are always brewing…”
      Cleo Coyle on Twitter
      www.CleoCoyleRecipes.com

      Delete
  4. Those cherries sound very cheery! Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. These cheery cherries are a great way to cheer up a chilly cheerless winter evening. Ciao, Elaine, and thank you for stopping by.

      ~ Cleo

      Coffeehouse Mystery.com
      “Where coffee and crime are always brewing…”
      Cleo Coyle on Twitter
      www.CleoCoyleRecipes.com


      Delete
  5. Great idea! Especially for those of us who don't cook!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's the beauty of happy cherries. No muss, no fuss! Thank you so much for dropping in, Heather.

      ~ Cleo

      Coffeehouse Mystery.com
      “Where coffee and crime are always brewing…”
      Cleo Coyle on Twitter
      www.CleoCoyleRecipes.com

      Delete