Peanut Butter & Jelly Chocolate Cups Recipe

Cook Time: About 20 minutes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Chocolate and peanut butter lovers, gather around! Today we introduce to you these deliciously decadent Peanut Butter & Jelly Chocolate Cups, featuring Cherchies® Preserves and Cherchies® Fruit Butter Spreads. Chocolate covered everything I say, and if you are a chocolate lover like I am, I know you will surely understand.

What makes everything better, other than chocolate? (Maybe bacon, but I will save that for another day). These sweet and salty chocolate treats will melt your heart, but grab some for yourself because these tasty morsels will disappear right before your eyes. They did at our home!

Who wants some?

Comment below and let us know what Preserve or Butter Spread you liked most in this recipe.

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Ingredients

2 cups chocolate chips/ dark chocolate chips

1 teaspoon (tsp) coconut oil
12 muffin cup liners
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup Cherchies® Preserves of choice or Cherchies® Butter Spreads
Coarse sea salt for garnish (optional)

Preparation
Line a 12 cup muffin tin with disposable cupcake liners.

Combine Peanut Butter and powdered sugar in a medium bowl. Mix ingredients with hand mixer until combined. Scoop mixture with melon ball scooper (1 inch) and place the mixture on a parchment paper lined tray. Place tray in freezer for about 10 minutes. Remove Peanut Butter balls from the freezer and flatten with a spatula. Return to freezer while you prepare the chocolate.

While peanut butter patties are chilling, prepare the chocolate. Melt the chocolate chips and 1 teaspoon (tsp.) coconut oil in a bowl over a pan filled with about 1 1/2" water. Turn the burner on high and stir chips as they begin to melt. (You could melt chips in microwave if your prefer, heating on 50% power for 30 second intervals, stirring each time until completely melted). When all the chocolate chips are melted, remove the pan and bowl from heat and turn off the stove.

Add about 1 Tablespoon (Tbsp.) (dollop) of melted chocolate to each muffin cup. Use a clean art brush to spread the chocolate up the sides. Afterwards, tap the pan on the counter to even the chocolate in the cups.

When peanut butter patties are not tacky, remove them from the freezer and place patties in the middle of the chocolate cup. Add 1 teaspoon (tsp) Cherchies® Preserves or Cherchies® Fruit Butter Spreads and carefully spread over peanut butter patty, making sure not to go to the edge. The chocolate needs to go on the sides and top.

Add the remaining chocolate (1 Tablespoon (Tbsp)) to each of the cups. Use a spoon or small spatula and spread chocolate over peanut butter and jelly to the edge of the cupcake liner to seal in the yumminess. Refrigerate for 20 minutes or until set.

Remove from refrigerator, sprinkle with coarse sea salt and enjoy!

Yum

Cherry Glazed Ham Recipe

April 12, 2017entrees, glaze marinade & sauceSheri SpalloneComment

Are you traveling this holiday, or will you share a lovely Easter meal with family or friends at home? What do you serve at Easter? In our family, a traditional Easter dinner or brunch wouldn't be the same without a succulent glazed ham. Since Easter is almost here, I thought you would enjoy our family's favorite glazed ham recipe, Cherry Glazed Ham.

Let's face it: ham is the perfect entree for most holidays and occasions, as it easily pleases a crowd. And what ham would only be complete with a homemade glaze (not the little packets that come with the hams), a homemade glaze? Preparing a glaze takes only a few minutes, and the possibilities are endless. Over the years, I have experimented with our various preserves and hot pepper jams in this basic recipe, and all the results have been just as fabulous. This time, I was craving a glaze bursting with cherries, and this easy sweet-salty ham recipe, featuring our Cherchies® Cherry Butter Spread, Cherchies® Champagne Mustard, and just the slightest hint of Bourbon, is the perfect addition to your holiday menu.

So gather up your guests, grab a jar of Cherchies® Cherry Butter Spread, Cherchies® Champagne Mustard, slather on the glaze, and serve this delicious ham with your favorite side dishes for an exceptional holiday meal, and wait for the ooohs and ahhhs!

Happy Easter, friends!

Thanks for stopping by:) Comment below if you have tried this tasty recipe. Come back again for more family-tested recipes, entertaining ideas, and cooking tips using all our favorite Cherchies® gourmet products.

Preparation

10-12 lb. fully-cooked spiral sliced ham
2 Tablespoon (Tbsp) Cherchies® Champagne Mustard
1 jar Cherchies® Cherry Butter Spread (or for more of a kick, try Cherchies® Cherry Hot Pepper Jam)
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 Tablespoons Bourbon

* Note- Substitute Cherchies® Cranberry Preserves with Champagne for the butter spread for a festive flair!

Preparation

Prepare the glaze by combining Cherchies® Champagne Mustard, Cherchies® Cherry Butter, brown sugar, and Bourbon in a small saucepan. Cook on low until smooth. Pour half of the glaze over the ham and cook the ham according to the package directions, normally 15 minutes per pound, until warm. Chill the other half of the glaze until later. When the ham is about a half hour from being done, remove the ham from the oven and pour the rest of the glaze over the ham. Cook the ham for the remaining time. When the ham is warmed, cool for 15 minutes before serving.

*Note- This basic recipe would work nicely with any of our Cherchies® Preserves or Hot Pepper Jams, depending on your palate. Try them all, and let us know what you come up with:)

Enjoy!

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Refreshing Fruit Pizza Recipe

April 6, 2017desserts, breakfastSheri Spallone2 Comments

This refreshing dessert pizza recipe is a new "twist" on an old classic and is the perfect recipe to take advantage of summer's glorious berries and fruits.

Growing up, my mother occasionally made this special treat for my sister and me, using whatever fruit was available, and topped it off with a delicious marmalade glaze. (Secretly, I think she made this dessert so her daughters would eat their fruit. We were picky eaters. Clever mom, using a cookie as a disguise).

This pretty dessert pizza recipe is easy to make; it uses whatever fruit you have on hand (canned or fresh) and is a fun family project for any occasion, any time of year. It features a sugar cookie crust, cream cheese frosting, fresh berries and fruit, and Cherchies® Fig Preserves. I have made this decadent dessert over the years with my babies, with different combinations, and it was a hit every time. Now that my babies are in college, they still like to bake with mom. :) They recently made this dessert for Memorial Day and arranged the strawberries and blueberries to resemble an American flag, but the decorating options are endless. We finished the dessert pizza with a glaze using our Fig Preserves, amping up Mom's original recipe. I did not have time to photograph their creation because it didn't last long.

Are you ready to try this tasty dessert pizza recipe? It is easy and flavorful; it is fun to make and can be made any time of year in whatever design you desire, using whatever fruit is available.

Thank you for visiting! Stop back again for more tasty recipes!

Comment below if you have made this recipe.

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Ingredients

1 pkg. (16.5 oz.) refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1 pkg (8 oz.) cream cheese softened
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon (tsp) vanilla
4 cups assorted fruit (blueberries, strawberries, kiwi)
1/4 cup Cherchies® Fig Preserves (you could substitute your favorite preserves or marmalade)
1 Tablespoon (Tbsp) water

Preparation

Heat oven to 375. Line a 12-inch pizza pan (or any kid of round sheet) with foil; spray with cooking spray. Press cookie dough into pan to completely cover pan.

Bake 14 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool completely. Invert cookie onto plate. Gently remove foil. Turn crust over onto plate.

Meanwhile, while cookie pizza is baking, mix together the cream cheese and the powdered sugar and vanilla, and spread cream cheese mixture onto entire cooled cookie. Now the fun begins...

Then load up the pizza with whatever fruit makes you happy. In this case, I used kiwis, strawberries, and blueberries. My mother’s recipe called for mandarin oranges, but for some reason my children don’t like them (silly kids). If I had had Clementine’s on hand, I would have used them.

Arrange the fruit onto the pizza. The possibilities are endless. This is a great family or kid’s party activity. How fun would it be to arrange the fruit into a face?

Wait for it...

Now the "piece de resistance", the glaze! Mix the Cherchies Fig Preserves with the water, and drizzle over the pizza...

Yummy goodness! Dig in:)

Yum

Homemade Pop Tarts Recipe

February 14, 2017breakfast, snacks, dessertsSheri SpalloneComment

Happy Valentine's Day, friends! Last year, I posted a recipe for Homemade Toaster Strudels. This morning, before the kiddos went to school, I surprised my favorite valentines with sweet, tasty, fruity, homemade Valentine Pop-Tarts. Sweets for my sweeties:) Needless to say, Mom prevailed a hero (a great way to start the day).

I used the same idea as the Toaster Strudels, except this time, I substituted refrigerated pie dough to emulate the Pop-Tarts sold in grocery stores (our kiddos love, but I am not a fan). Yes, I certainly could have made the pie dough from scratch, but considering school mornings are crazy enough, I opted for grocery store refrigerated pie dough.

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Since February is Cherry month (didn't know that did you?), I decided to go with our Cherry Butter for the filling (but any of our Butter Spreads or **Preserves (see below) could be used in this recipe). And, because it is Valentine's Day, I went the extra step and used large heart-shaped cookie cutters to seal the deal. These "Pop-Tarts" were delicious by themselves, and adding gooey icing and sprinkles made these semi-homemade "Pop-Tarts" irresistible! Hands down, these homemade Pop-Tarts are far better than the grocery store versions and are our children's new favorite. Try our homemade version today. You may never go back to store-bought Pop-Tarts again.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Thank you for visiting. Comment below if you have tried this recipe and if you have pictures to share.

Ingredients

2 rolls of room temperature refrigerated pie dough
Cherchies® Cherry Butter (or could substitute Cherchies® Strawberry Butter, or Cherchies® Apple Butter, or any of our **delicious preserves, mixed with 1 Tablespoon of corn starch).
1 egg, beaten
1 cup powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon (or more depending on consistency) heavy cream
1 or two drops of food coloring (I actually used 1 Tablespoon of additional Cherry Butter in the icing in lieu of food coloring)
1 large heart-shaped cookie cutter- Approx. 4 1/2 inches in diameter (optional)
Sprinkles (optional)

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly flour your prep surface. Roll out the dough over the counter or prep surface. Use cookie cutters to cut out desired shapes. If making simple Pop Tarts (not using cookie cutters, cut off rounded ends of pie dough, and cut pie dough into rectangles).

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add about 1-2 Tablespoons (depending on size of cookie cutter) with Cherchies® Cherry Butter Spread to the center of the dough, making sure to leave at least 1/2 inch around the perimeter of the dough for sealing.

Place another piece of dough gently over the filling and crimp the edges with a fork to seal the tart. Seal well to keep the tasty fruit inside from seeping out.

Brush the egg over the entire tart, and bake in the oven until the tarts are golden brown. Allow to cool slightly before icing the tarts.

While tarts are baking, mix the icing. In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, heavy cream, and food coloring (in my case, I used the Cherry Butter to color the icing). If icing is too thick, add a couple drops of heavy cream at a time to thin the icing. Icing should slightly ooze off the spoon. While tarts are still warm, scoop a large spoonful of icing and drizzle it over the pop tarts. If desired, add sprinkles and watch them disappear!