Follow the step-by-step, instructions for making our very special Cheerwine Cherry Cobbler. We’re using one of the Souths favorite soft drinks to sweeten up fresh cherries and turn it all into a delicious cherry cobbler, made from scratch. Serve it warm, topped with Vanilla Ice Cream or a creamy smooth whipped topping. Perfect for a delicious summer treat, or anytime of the year.
The soft drink Cheerwine is known throughout the Carolinas and is expanding Internationally. It’s been here in North Carolina since 1917 and has been loved by young and old alike for it’s delightfully different cherry flavored taste. It has a bit more carbonation than your other soft drinks and is at it’s best when its as cold as you can get it.
Beyond its appeal as a refreshing soft drink, Cheerwine has found itself right at home in the world of cooking as well. From Cheerwine cakes, pound cakes, ice cream and sherberts to barbecue sauce, you can find lots of ways in which to incorporate it into a recipe. Cola cakes have been around for sometime, but Cheerwine may be the only one that is mass produced both in pound cake form and in doughnut form. Back in 2010, Cheerwine partnered with Krispy Kreme (another North Carolina company) and produced the Cheerwine flavored doughnut.
We hope to add another taste delight into the Cheerwine group of recipes with our unique Cheerwine Cherry Cobbler. We’re using fresh cherries and cooking them in Cheerwine cola to concentrate the sweetness and flavor, then we’re topping it with a crunchy crust and baking it in the oven. I think you’ll love it with some Vanilla Ice Cream on top or even with some whipped topping. Either way, it’s certainly worth trying and I hope you’ll enjoy this for years to come. Ready to give it a try? Alright then… Let’s Get Cooking!
Cheerwine Cherry Cobbler: You’ll need these ingredients.
Begin the cobbler by washing the cherries under cold running water. I’m using one pound of fresh cherries for this recipe but you could just as easily add another pound of cherries without having to increase any of the other ingredients. I like a thick topping and there is certainly enough topping in this recipe to easily work with more cherries.
Remove the stems from the cherries. Yep, got to do that one at a time.
Next, remove the pit. If you don’t happen to have a dedicated tool to remove the pit, a knife will work. Yep, gotta do that one at a time as well. Just watch the juice, it could easily stain your towels or counter top.
Place the cherries in a medium sized sauce pot and place that over Medium heat on your stove.
Pour in the two bottles of Cheerwine. It fizzes a lot because of the extra carbonation. We’re using two bottles because we want to fully cook the cherries in the cola and let the cola reduce down. It’s not going to thicken up as it cooks, but you’ll need to let it cook down until you have just a little more than a cup of liquid in the cherries. As the cola cooks down, the flavors and the sugar of the Cheerwine will intensify giving it the taste we’re looking for. Also, be sure to use the Regular Cheerwine Cola and not the Diet version.
Add the cocoa. We all know that chocolate and cherries just go good together… right? This will give just a little hint of chocolate flavor without overpowering the overall Cheerwine taste. Give it a good stir.
The cherries and Cheerwine need to reach a low boil and then be allowed to continue at this low boil for about 30-45 minutes. You don’t have to stand over the pot but do be sure to stir it about every 10 minutes to keep anything from sticking and burning in the bottom of the pot. As mentioned, you will need to let this cook down until you have just over a cup of liquid left in the cherries. This will give us plenty of time to work on the topping.
I’m using a 2 quart casserole dish to make my Cheerwine cobbler. I’m using this size to prevent the cobbler from boiling over while baking and making a mess inside the oven.
Begin making the cobbler by placing one level cup of Self-Rising Flour in a sifter.
Add the cornstarch.
Sift the ingredients into a large mixing bowl. If you don’t have a sifter, you could just place the flour and cornstarch in a bowl and use a whisk to “fluff” it up a bit.
After sifting, add the Brown Sugar.
Then, add the Granulated Sugar.
Whisk the dry ingredients together well, then use your hand to make a small well in the center of the flour.
Add one whole egg into the well you just made in the flour.
Use a fork to slightly beat the egg. Next, stir the egg into the flour a little at a time as you continue to work it together. Keep stirring until you’ve incorporated it all together.
You’ll end up with a crumbly dough like you see here. Place some flour on your hands and use your fingers to break up any large lumps of dough.
When the Cheerwine has reduced down to about one cup on the stove, remove the sauce pan from the heat. Add in the Almond Extract and give it a good stir.
The cherries should be fully cooked at this point. As mentioned, if you like more fruit in your cobbler, you could easily double the amount of cherries in this recipe without having to increase anything in the topping part.
Pour the cherries and Cheerwine mixture into your buttered baking dish.
Drop the portions of the topping all around the top of the cherry mixture.
Melt your butter in the microwave, about 10 seconds at a time. It doesn’t take long to melt butter in the microwave. It gets hot quick so be careful with it. Drizzle the butter all over the topping. Place the dish in your pre-heated oven.
Bake at 350º for about 30-40 minutes.
They say cobbler gets it’s name form the cobblestone look it has. You’re just baking the cobbler to get the topping part done. You can test that by inserting a toothpick into the thicker dough sections. If it pulls out clean, other than juice, then the cobbler should be fully baked. Remove it from the oven and place on a towel or wire rack to cool. I’m adding some sugar sprinkles to the top just after taking it out of the oven. A light sprinkle of regular sugar will just give a little added sweetness to the overall flavor.
Let the cobbler cool for about 10 minutes prior to serving. This stuff gets bubbly hot while baking.
Cheerwine Cherry Cobbler will go great topped with some Vanilla Ice Cream, or try some whipped topping. Either way, serve it warm and ENJOY!
