Drunken Mini Cherry Cheesecakes

The one thing I managed to do this past summer was stock up on fresh fruit. My soul motivation was to be able to reach into my pantry as the chill hit the air to get a little taste of summer. The fruit made its way into several canning projects including strawberry balsamic jam and baked goods like my orange raspberry muffins. When cherry season rolled around I wanted to switch it up a bit.

Put ‘em Up, by Sherri Brooks Vinton, has several cherry recipes I was eager to try. With an eye towards homemade gifts for Christmas, I decided to make her Drunken Cherries. I let word slip out that I made them and I barely had enough on hand when Christmas rolled around.

As Sherri indicates in her book, the cherries are phenomenal over ice cream or as an extra special ingredient in a Manhattan. I decided to dress up a basic cheesecake recipe. There is no need to use an extravagant recipe. The cherries bring an incredible sweet bite to the cake.

I realize that if you live in the United States you are probably knee deep in winter and unlikely to find a surplus of cherries in your area. Take a moment and bookmark this recipe. A little planning will go a long way. You’ll be so happy to have this sweet little concoction in your pantry come this time next year.

I was a little overzealous with this experiment. The cheesecake recipe I used did not call for a mini tart pan. I wanted something cute and little so I decided to experiment. Lesson learned. The mini tart pan I used was not ideal for the texture and density of a mini graham cracker crumb base. Next time I’ll stick with what the recipe called for and use a regular sized tart pan or spring form pan instead.

Right before I decided to play around with creating a recipe for the filling I did a quick search for drunken cherry desserts and found the perfect recipe for a drunken cherry topping/filling on Local Kitchen. I’m so glad I took a minute to do a search because the filling is a perfect compliment to the cake.

No Bake Cheesecake recipe from Joy of Baking

Drunken Cherry Topping/Filling recipe from Local Kitchen

Recipe Attribution: The Debate Rages On

©iStockphoto.com/marekuliasz

This is the first in a continuing series of posts about how to keep it legal while blogging.

When someone copies a recipe word for word and fails to provide credit for the source it is pretty easy to accuse them of not providing the proper attribution. The line becomes blurred with a tweak here and there. When does a recipe become your own? What is the proper way to credit a source?

Well, let me see if I can help you figure it out.

Roasted Balsamic Brussels Sprouts

Are you ready for this? Up until yesterday I had never tried Brussels sprouts. I wasn’t necessarily avoiding them but I wasn’t exactly dying to try them. I can’t believe I waited this long to try them. They are a wonderful leafy vegetable that is very versatile. My friend, Lisa at Jersey Girl Cooks, recently shared that her Brussels sprouts recipe was one of her most popular recipes last year, so I knew I must be missing something. Thanks Lisa for the inspiration!