Cherry Preserves Ricotta Toast

These Cherry Preserves are quick and easy! There is just one simple addition that makes them tower over all the rest! Stock up on Summer’s bounty and enjoy all year! I spread mine on black pepper honey ricotta toast for an easy snack or breakfast.

I can’t eat cherry preserves with a spoon. That guilty pleasure is specifically reserved for Nutella, peanut butter, and pasta sauce. (Oh, so that last one is weird?! Judgy)

So what to do with all the cherry preserves? Spoon a generous amount over black pepper honey ricotta on sourdough toast! Obviously.

You could use regular ricotta…but I’m Extra and I mixed mine up with some fresh cracked black pepper and a dollop of local honey. I keep a pre-sliced loaf of homemade sourdough in my freezer for just these moments. This particular batch was Smoked Paprika Sourdough. Imagine all those flavors marrying in your mouth…in essence a little bit of heaven.

Last week was the last of the local cherries in NYC. Like little red phantoms, one minute they’re here and the next minute they’re gone. Overnight the gems disappear: First the tart cherries and then the sweet. Every single year I’m a little sad when they depart.

I don’t play favorites with fruits, because Summer is magic, but if I did, cherries would be right up there.

I told you about my first summer in NYC, when cherries were gone before I even got started on cherry desserts. This year I vowed never to let that happen again. One could even accuse me of indulging in a bit of cherry mania [evidence on my Instagram lol]

Even here on AHC, I put cherries in my grain bowls, in my caramel ice cream, pickled them, and put those pickles in a stone fruit panzanella salad. At work I baked ALL THE THINGS! (Cherry Coca Cola Cake anyone?!)

I wrote you a little cheat sheet for making the cherry happiness last all year:

Step 1: Buy all the cherries; eat as many as possible.

Step 2: Make jam

Step 3: Pickle the rest

See easy as pie!

You know what else is easier than pie? These cherry preserves. Seriously so simple.

A little trade secret – keep the pits, wrap them in cheesecloth and cook them with your jam. They will impart a subtle depth of flavor. Almost like cinnamon. In fact, you can cheat and just add a cinnamon stick, but I like to use all the bits of the cherry. I like to think it makes Mother Nature smile.

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But just in case you did want to make cherry pie. I’m here for it 😉

Oooo or a galette!