i'd rather be baking

This week finds us butting up against the final holiday weekend of the year, fighting our second round of head colds this month, and packing up our house for the impending move. Oh yes, and missing these beauties.

We made these tasty little squares a couple of weeks ago, uploaded the photos, and then somehow forgot about them. But don’t let that fool you — they’re crazy delicious. A buttery cake base provided the perfect home for a bunch of the cherries that I pitted and froze this summer, when they were too cheap to leave at the grocery store.

As we pack up the last of our kitchen supplies (as well as everything else we own), I can’t help but wish that we still had some of these tasty little morsels. Deliciously moist with little punches of tartness, they’re pretty much the perfect breakfast. The only thing that might improve them would be a smattering of dark chocolate, which you’d better believe I’ll be adding next time.

Cherry Crumb Squares
Adapted from Martha Stewart

I’ve made these twice now and learned a thing or two in the process. The pecans provide a nice, earthy complement to the cherries’ tartness, and if you want to toast them first, even better. This is also a great recipe to make a day ahead and to chill overnight before slicing. This allows the squares and especially the cherries to firm up just enough to make cutting them much easier. Plus, they taste great cold!

For the topping:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine, melted
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dish
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the cakes:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup plain or vanilla yogurt (I used a low fat version)
2 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cherries, pitted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch square baking dish with cooking spray, and dust with flour, tapping out excess.

Make the topping: Stir together butter, flour, pecans, sugars, salt, and cinnamon.

Make the cakes: If you’re using frozen cherries, measure them out and place your measuring cup atop the oven to defrost a little while you mix the batter. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. With a mixer, cream butter and granulated sugar in another bowl until pale and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Working in alternating batches, add flour mixture and yogurt, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat until just combined. Pour into prepared dish, and smooth with an offset spatula (or a butter knife). Top the batter with cherries, and sprinkle with crumb topping.

Bake until golden and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let cool completely before cutting.