Thanks to the Michigan Cherry Committee for sponsoring this post!

Cold and Refreshing Farro Salad

This is my idea of the best farro salad! Made with an abundance of fresh ingredients, a nice blend of textures and a delicious balance of flavors. It's sure to be the highlight of any meal!

It's savory, sweet, tangy, tart, vibrant, perfectly simple and yet it's a salad you'll remember.

The star of the salad is not only the farro but also the Montmorency dried cherries. You'll love their concentrated, unique, and exciting flavor and chewy texture.

They make for a great snack, a delicious salad topping, and are so tasty mixed into oatmeal or baked goods.

Farro Salad Video

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A few benefits and details about Montmorency Tart Cherries:

• Did you know Michigan Montmorency tart cherries are a natural food source of melatonin? Studies have shown that consumption of tart cherry juice can prevent insomnia and improve the quality and duration of sleep.
• They are a heart healthy fruit. Studies indicate that they may help lower levels of cholesterol and triglycerides and reduce inflammation.
• They may help naturally reduce inflammation related to arthritis and gout.
• You can find them available year round in dried, frozen, canned or juice form.
• By choosing these you are supporting locally American-grown fruit (75% of these cherries are grown in Michigan, the other 25% elsewhere in the U.S.).
• When purchasing your Montmorency cherries, look for “U.S. Grown” or “Product of the U.S.A” to make sure you are getting real U.S. Montmorency tart cherries”
• Imported tart cherries are boxed in shipping containers and may travel more than 5,000 miles before reaching your grocery store. Michigan Montmorency cherries go from a U.S. farm to your local grocery store (See photo referral below for a comparable, the cherries above are Michigan Montmorency while the cherries below are imported).
• They are also available in a sweetened variety which is what I opted to use here since we've already used a tart dressing.

You'll love these deeply colored, juicy jewels as the perfect finishing touch to this full flavored salad!

Most of the time I'm all about making things from scratch, but every now and then I'll pull out a box of some kind. We all need a super easy recipe for when we are craving a good sweet but are feeling too lazy for a bunch of prep sometimes. Plus, I thought I'd throw a recipe out there for your loved ones to make you on Valentine's Day in case they don't like to bake—the instructions couldn't be easier.

Cherry Almond Turnovers

These really couldn't get any quicker and they really do taste delicious! My husband came home from work and ate three within a number of minutes, then the next day came home asking for more.

My kids couldn't get over them either. I think it's the almond glaze that really takes them over the top. I love a little almond extract with fruit flavors like strawberry, raspberry, or cherry.

If you'd like you can use another flavor of pie filling in place of the cherry; I would like to try strawberry or raspberry variations next time. An apple or peach version would be delicious with a little cinnamon and a cream cheese drizzle, too. If you want to elevate these cherry pie bites a little more, you can upgrade to puff pastry dough and use an egg wash step when they're placed on the large baking sheet. I've also seen bakers assemble these in a regular muffin tin—almost like a mini pie.

If you don't want sixteen of these you can easily make half a batch, then just save your remaining pie filling to add to your morning oatmeal or something.

They always remind me of the beach because I always take along a bag of cherries to snack on (and licorice and a bag of potato chips that always ends up getting full of sand).

These, I wouldn't recommend taking them too the beach, too risky. No one wants a sandy cupcake or melted frosting. But, they are perfect for a summer party. Maybe I'm making all these cherry posts because they remind me of summer and yet where I live it still hasn't felt anything like summer (mid 40's just isn't cutting it for me).

These cupcakes however, are making it feel like a nice summer day around here.

I love how these are full of fresh lime flavor, thanks to their generous amount of fresh lime zest, a bit of fresh lime juice and a simple lime syrup glaze which is brushed along the tops of the freshly baked cupcakes.

The frosting screams cherry, not only with it's color but with the sweet flavor of the maraschino cherry juice mixed in. And of course these couldn't be cherry limeade cupcakes unless they were finished atop with a cherry. Who could resist them?

I should start a bakery dedicated to bars. No, really it would just be fun to have a cupcake, cake and cookie bakery one day, but I'm not ready for the work that would take now. Besides, I think I would enjoy blogging and sharing recipes more.

These bars are destined for greatness. Who wouldn't loves these? And I love the shortcut of the store-bought cherry pie filling.

Normally I snub a lot of store bought stuff when it can be homemade, but cherry pie filling, yes from a can, I actually love it. It sort of reminds me of maraschino cherries which I also love.

The flavors of these bars are summer bliss.

You get a buttery almond flavored cookie like batter which is topped with that simple yet incredible cherry pie filling, then it's topped with more dollops of the batter and it's baked to light golden perfection.

But wait, it doesn't end there. It's finished with a rich and creamy vanilla almond flavored glaze. Indeed you are going to love these.

Enjoy!

Sure, these are great for Valentine's Day, but even better? Mother's Day dessert, look no further! My Mom loved these cupcakes, and seriously who wouldn't? A chocolate cupcake with a cherry pie filling, topped with sweetened whipped cream and chocolate, yeah no one could turn it down.

Black Forest Cupcakes

Have you ever had a towering slice of layered Black Forest Chocolate Cake? It ruins all other chocolate cakes for you. The combination of chocolate and cherry is always delicious, but the textures in a cake make it even more drool-worthy. These decadent Black Forest cupcakes are perfectly chocolatey with a soft and moist crumb and that cherry pie filling, well try not to eat it by the spoonful before you fill the cupcakes.

In a way, these remind me of a ding-dong type cupcake but with of course the bonus of that delicious filling. I'll take juicy cherry pie filling over cream filling any day!

I think they would also be good with a raspberry or strawberry pie filling if you are wanting to switch it up a bit but try the cherry version at least once. It's a classic for a reason!

I adapted the cake portion for these cupcakes  from my favorite chocolate cake recipe. It's moist and fluffy with just the right amount of density to it. Then I topped them with my all time favorite buttercream frosting recipe, and added vanilla beans to make it more like a vanilla bean ice cream. And yes, that cherry on top is a must. I still remember going through the drive through of the ice cream shop when I was little and begging for a cherry on top of my bubble gum ice cream, every time. It's the little things in life right :)? Now I just buy maraschino cherries on occasion and just pop them like candy. My kids can't get enough of them either. I also think the nuts are a must on these because they give that light crunch and I use lightly salted nuts to add just a hint of salty to balance out the sweet.

The cherry and almond flavors were just meant to be together, right? Especially in cupcake form. Their tempting, nutty, and fruity pairing makes for dessert royalty. Straight cherry can be a little too sweet, but the addition of almond flavoring gives this cupcake some sophisticated depth and smoothness. It's a hit with adults and children alike!

Cherry Almond Cupcakes

Can we talk about how PRETTY these cupcakes are? I'm a sucker for any kind of cupcake (they're just so cute!), but a shiny Maraschino cherry on top is just irresistible. They're adorable for a birthday party, and I especially love a romantic cherry treat—making this the best Valentine's Day cupcake recipe!

These cupcakes are completely and utterly divine! Their texture is so soft and delicate and the almond-cherry-flavored frosting just melts away in your mouth. They are reminiscent of the cherry chip cake you get at the grocery store, but they are much better than a box mix of course. These are some sweet, blissful cherry clouds (if you can only imagine what that would taste like). With a fluffy cake and a decadent almond and maraschino cherry flavor, you might just very well find these to be a new favorite cupcake.

Black Forest Mini Cheesecakes

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I love Thanksgiving—what food lover doesn't? So basically who in the world doesn't? I decided to start the pre-holiday right today, we had BLTs for dinner and these. Gotta keep it light and healthy so I can feast tomorrow.

Ha! If only that could be considered light. One of my favorite meals ever, though. Bacon followed by cheesecake. And not just any cheesecake, Black Forest Cheesecakes!