Sweet Memories of Childhood

I don’t know anyone who says they had a great childhood, except my hubby. This, despite the fact his family moved around a lot as a child and there was lean times when his dad was unemployed. He still claims he had a great childhood. What a little optimist.

Childhood is what you spent the rest of your life trying to overcome. -Hope Floats

Yeah, that sums up my childhood.

Sure, there were happy times, like wondering the woods behind our house. I found solace exploring the forest floor, following the creek to see what lay around the bend, and catching a lizard or two.

We also had a cherry tree growing in our backyard. Living in the country, our property had several fruit trees. The apple trees were too sour to eat or to bake a pie. But, the cherries…that was a different story.

My ‘lil sister and I would climb the cherry tree, perch ourselves on a limb and pluck the sweet, red fruit from the stem, popping it into our mouths. The burst of sweet, sour, juiciness exploding in our mouths. I savored every bite!

From childhood, cherries have signaled the beginning of summer.

Cherries are a healthy summer treat but add a little sugar, butter and flour and you’ve got yourself something truly amazing.

I’d like to share with you two of my favorite cherry baked desserts.

First up is Grandma Mary’s Cherry Chocolate Cake

This cake is from Grandma Mary’s recipe files. She takes 1 box of chocolate cake mix, 2 eggs and 1 can of cherry pie filling. That’s it. Mix those three ingredients together. I hand mixed the cake so the cherries remained intact. Mary uses a hand mixer and the cherries get broken up. Either way this cake is sooooo good! Bake per cake mix directions in a 9×12 pan, let cool, then top with your favorite chocolate icing (homemade or store-bought). Mary brought this cake to a family dinner and fooled everyone into thinking it made from scratch.

Cherry Chocolate Chip Blondies

I made these Blondies by Averie Cooks a few weeks ago to take to a dinner party with friends. There were no leftovers! These Blondies are chewy, gooey, goodness.