Yummies: Cherry...Cherry Baby...

We told you about our undying heart for the delicious, bright colored, sexy, TDF tasting ball of fruit that cherries are and gorgeous readers of Things We Heart we are here to profess that love again!

How on earth did Mother Earth pack such a big, bold, tangy, sweet, amazing taste into such small bite sized packages? No seriously? How?

Man tried when he gave us Sour Patch Kids or Nerd filled gumballs but neither compare to the "bite" of a cherry.

Although we have been know to eat an entire bowl of cherries in one sitting...

Krisatomic

we are going to give you our fave ways to use the gorgeous globes of yum in fun, muy delish recipes...

Oh...PS we are not talking about the nasty...gooey...fake red maraschino cherries...

we are talking about the real deals...

Ok...choo choo the cherry train is off and running!

Now how can we possibly talk about summer and cherries with out talking about Cherry ICE CREAM!

Sorry to shout...but hello? ICE CREAM!!!

We never thought we would like cherry ice cream until we tried Ben and Jerry's, Cherry Garcia on a hot summer day.

Then we accidentally picked up a tub of Breyer's Cherry Vanilla and were just as happy!

Hot fudge poured over and we were sent to heaven!

Soooo you know what we say? Make it yourself!! No preservatives, all natural and hello? Homemade!!!

PS Ice Cream is waaaay easier than you think it is to make...

We are sooo making this Dark Chocolate and Cherry Ice Cream!

Over cherry pie? (shhh we kinda are too but we couldn't do a post with out it and there are tons of people who totally heart it)

NO? Ok good! We just happen to have an award winning recipe for Cherry Pie right here!

Ingredients

• Store bought pie crust bottom and top
• 2 cups pitted sour cherries
• 1 1/4 cups white sugar
• 10 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Directions

1. Place pastry bottom in a 9 inch pie pan.
2. Place the cherries, sugar, and cornstarch in a medium size non-aluminum saucepan. Allow the mixture to stand for 10 minutes, or until the cherries are moistened with the sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Lower the heat; simmer for 1 minute, or until the juices thicken and become translucent. Remove pan from heat, and stir in butter and almond extract. Pour the filling into the pie shell. Cover with top crust.
3. Bake in a preheated 375 degree F (190 degree C) oven for 45 to 55 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.

Try a ridonculous cherry cheese pie?!?!?

It's cherry pie meets cheese cake!! DOne and DDDOOONNNEE!!

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 1 (21 ounce) can cherry pie filling
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Add butter; stir until combined. Press onto the bottom and up the sides of a 9-in. pie plate. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Pour pie filling into crust.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth. Carefully spread around outside edges of pie, leaving a 3-in. circle of cherries exposed in the center. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Cool on a wire rack. Refrigerate for several hours before serving.

Still not sold? Otay...what about warm gooey cherry cobbler?

You remember how amazing cobblers are right? Not too sweet but oh soooo homey and comforting and every bit "yummmm" inducing.

Ingredients

Filling:

• 6 cups tart red cherries, pitted
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 4 teaspoons cornstarch

Topping:

• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon bakingshowlist_icon.gif"> powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3 tablespoons milkshowlist_icon.gif">

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a saucepan combine filling ingredients and cook, stirring until bubbling and thickened. Pour into an 8-inch square baking dish. Meanwhile, stir together flour, sugars, baking powder, and cinnamon. Cut in butter until it is crumbly. Mix together egg and milk. Add to flour mixture and stir with a fork just until combined. Drop topping by tablespoonfuls onto filling. Bake for 25 minutes until browned and bubbly.

And cookies might be the last things we think about when thinking about cherry inspired recipes but these Cherry Chocolate Chippers may just change our minds about cherry cookies all together.

Packed with everything amazing we are suuuper excited to make these for everyone at our next BBQ and fill with ...oh nothing...just a bit of vanilla ice cream or frosting!!!

Our favorite way to eat cherries? The easiest recipe ever? Here it is...

Ingredients

1 bag of fresh cherries

1 bowl

1 small bowl for pits

Directions

Open Bag

Wash cherries thoroughly.

Fill large bowl with cherries.

Pop a cherry in your mouth, bite into crisp skin, let flavors explode in your mouth (see we told you cherries were sexy)

Spit the pit.

Did we not sell you on the scrumdidiliumtousness of cherries? OK well you can't deny the cuteness of them..

So if you don't want to eat them...Nike says, "Wear them" Yes please!!!

How ever you love your cherry...remember they are as delish as they are amazingly healthy for you! Packed with anti-oxidants for heart health and cancer battling...they are also high in fiber and can even help you sleep at night!

All of that in a sweet package? Wooo hooo!

xoxo things we heart

Yummies:We Heart... Oooooey Gooooey Stickey Amazing Caramel...

Welcome Fall! How have you been? We want to apologize to you for a couple of reasons...

#1. Sorry we keep saying how much we looooove Summer...we do but it's not because we don't heart you too...we just heart flip flops, the beach and warmth

#2. Well that's really it...but guess what? We heart you too!

Snuggley Cashmere from White and Warren

You want to know why? Because we lurve cashmere, sitting by the fire and fall sweets! Sure ice cream and summer fruits are divine but nothing beats yummy gooey caramel!

Thank you for your warm and inviting caramels, fall..thank you for how fantastical they taste and feel in our mouths! Ooooohhhh...we are drooling a little..hold on...let me get a Caramello to attempt to satisfy my caramel craving..

Ok...we are back and RTG about our fav fall sweet...CARAMEL! ooopsie...sorry for yelling..we are just super excited...

Caramel is such a simple sweet, from heated sugar comes a golden sweetness that could really only come from the heavens...that is if heaven was filled with gooey sweetness...and we think it is ;)...well that, Unicorns and Crumbs Cupcakes.

Our heart affair with Caramel came when we were in 2nd grade at our friend JP's house making Caramel Apples for Halloween.

There is nothing like the sound of the crinkling plastic wrapper coming off the golden Kraft Caramels...the smell of dipping bright green apples into warm golden liquid...waiting for them to cool on the wax paper...UGHGHHG amazing! Sooo worth the wait.

Here is crazy easy recipe for delish Caramel Apples and the easiest place to find Kraft Caramels.

Um hi...sometimes you get really lucky in the gift department and this last Winter was not exception.

A friend (now we consider them family for such a yummy gift...and we are going to invite them again..shhh) brought us these unbelievable Fleur De Sel Caramels from Joan's on Third, here in LA. One taste and we were hooked!

We are not sure what it is...but Sea Salt and Caramel are a match made in heaven! The salty sweet stickiness is TDF!!!!

Joan's doesn't sell them online but we found these yummy replacements that look just as amazing... Trust us...you're welcome ;)

Speaking on FDS (Fleur De Sel) Caramels...Trader Joes makes suuuuper good ones that come in an uber cute tub. And PS...if they are from TJs you know they are yummy and crazy affordable!

Close your eyes...are they closed? Oh wait..then you can't read this.. OK don't close them but imagine gooey warm caramel sauce poured over vanilla ice cream in a glass bowl....OMG right?

So like a warm hug from your lover!

We found this sauce once in a gift basket from the Chocolate Bar and have been hooked ever since.

It's really rich and thick and when drizzled over ice cream, bread pudding or brownies it's like heaven on Earth. You could probably pour it over anything and it would taste amazing.

Don't feel like waiting for your ooooey gooooey sauce to come? DIY it hot stuff! Our Goddess of the Kitchen, Ina Garten, will show you the way.

Yuummm....molten chocolate cake...mmmmmm. Your dinner guests won't believe their eyes or noses when the get a glimpse of one.

But what do you think they will do when they put their spoon into it and gooey warm caramel flows out from the center with the fudgey goodness?

Um, they will probably kiss you and come back the next day.

We found an amazing recipe here at 2stews!

Remember the long lasting, amazing taste bud tickling fun of eating a Sugar Daddy?

The slightly salty, yet totally sweet caramel lollipop that lasted for hours!

You can still find them and they are every bit as good as you remember...

Now that you are a wee bit older, how about trying a shmancy version of the Sugar Daddy ?

Our fav ice cream brand, Ben and Jerry's is super on the caramel bandwagon too this fall!...Wooooo hoooo!!

Now you can get their amazingness in Triple Caramel Chunk!!! What?!?!?!? Uh huh...TCC.

Need...this....now!

It's caramel ice cream, with caramel swirls and huge chunks of fudge covered caramel!!!!!

Wowowowow! Fire side...in cashmere jammies...eating this! Yes please!!!!!

Want the chocolate covered caramels with out the ice cream? It is just as fun and totally decadent.

The famous Fran's creates the most divine CCC (choc covered caramels) in the Northern Hemisphere!

Sprinkled with a touch of smoked sea salt...DONE AND DONE!

Bring these to your next dinner party for the host and they will invite you back for sure!...

But beware...they might tell their friends about you and then you'll have to bring them some to their parties and your wallet might be a bit thinner...

So if that is the case...make your own!

Take Kraft Caramels, yummy dark chocolate and gourmet sea salt.

Melt the choc...dip the caramels into (use a fork to hold them on the bottom side) lay on wax paper and sprinkle with salt (not too much!).

Easy Peasy!

Martha S. has amazing ideas on how to package home made goods so you can show up to that dinner party and be the fancy pants!

Some ridiculously cute Etsy seller and marshmallow extraordinaire makes caramel marshmallows and they are every bit as delish as they look...

MMmmmmmmmmm drop one of those in your hot chocolate...just saying...HEAVEN!

Oh geez...here we go...the ultimate....the fantastical...baked goods with caramel!!!!!!

We can not wait to make this warm caramel apple strudel...

Hurry friends...throw a casual dinner party so I can make this and bring it over!

Here are a few famous gourmet chocolate and caramel makers around the US...

Bequet Confections

Poco Dolce- TDF Burnt Caramel Tiles!!

Le Saric- You're welcome

We found a pretty simple caramel corn recipe here...wooo hooo!

Have fun! Enjoy the chilly air of fall and basque in the yummy gooey-ness of caramel!

xoxo t.w.h.

Yummies: I scream, you scream, we all scream for ICE CREAM!

Oh wow, really? Are we gonna do it? Oh yes, dear ones, it is time to talk about God's gift to the taste-buds, it's time to talk ice cream. That delicious, creamy, yummy in your tummy goodness that comes in a cardboard tub. Remember being little and just eating and eating this stuff? Bowl after bowl, cone after cone.... Oh wait, maybe that is why the Things-We-Heart gals were both little chubby wubby's when we were kids .... We just couldn't stop! 

But really, who could blame us? We know we were not alone! 

Nowadays we still love our ice cream, although we settle for just one cone. 

So, what ice creams do we reach for when the urge hits? Here are some of our favorites. 

True blue, old school, hippie dippy! We heart Ben and Jerry's! Since 1988 this company has been putting their money where your mouth is. They have been active in reducing company waste, working with family farms to support sustainable farming, and maintaining a company policy of paying a livable wage, almost twice the national average for minimum wage. So if you are going to pay a company to make you fat, this is the place! 

Plus, the ice cream is amazing and tastes like little frozen pots of heaven. Win-Win! 

We also love those cute little Tofutti Cuties. Dairy free and totally delicious, you can pick them up in most grocery stores & Trader Joe's (at least here in california). Seriously, you would never know unless someone told you that these are soy. But remember just because they are made with soy, it does NOT make them vegetables. (We already tried to use that excuse.) 

Last, but not at all least, we have Yogurt Land.... Ahhhh, sweet, tangy Yogurt Land. We know, we know, Yogurt Land / Pinkberry / Yogurt Land / Pinkberry, for now lets go with Yogurt Land.... Ahhh, sweet, tangy Yogurt Land... Oh, right pay attention we already said that. This is the place to go for delicious, serve yourself, frozen yogurt (and really, hasn't frozen yogurt counted as "ice cream" since like '88?). With toppings supreme this is like the olympics of the desert bar. It is really just so much fun to go into one of these shops. If you are felling good go for tangy plain fro-yo with tons of fruit, if you feel like indulging try some Dutch chocolate fro-yo with chocolate chips, and chocolate sprinkles, maybe some chocolate brownies crumbled on top. 

YUMMIES!!

Have you ever noticed how pretty much every chick-flick portrays the sad girl, drowning her troubles in a pint of mint & chip. But somehow, at least for us, ice cream is not for when your sad, ice cream is for happy things! Ice cream is for celebrating birthdays and warm lazy summer days. It speaks of childhood and fun. So please, movie makers of the world, lets lay off the ice cream as a sedative gimmick, because really,  isn't that what chocolate is for. 

XOXO- Things We Heart