A Recipe From Nina Redding's Kitchen: Black Cherry Delight

Our family loves this refreshing easy to make Jello dessert in individual servings dishes topped with lots of homemade whipped cream. I make it for Thanksgiving and its beautiful color and cold temperature makes it a nice complement to the traditional Thanksgiving menu we serve. I prepare it in individual 4 oz. jelly jars which I have an abundance in the attic! Makes 6-8 small servings.

Ingredients

3 oz. box of black cherry Jello
1 cup heavy cream
½ teaspoon vanilla
¼ cup powdered sugar
 1 can (14.5 oz) whole pitted sweet cherries

Directions For Gelatin Mixture:

1. Make Jello. Add one cup of boiling water to black cherry gelatin mix; stir until completely dissolved.
2. The second cup of liquid for the Jello will be made up of the juice from the cherries and water. Open can of cherries and drain juice into a glass measuring cup. Add water to the juice in the cup to make a total of 1 cup liquid. On a cutting board, cut cherries in half then refrigerate for later use.
3. Add cherry juice/water mixture to the dissolved cherry gelatin and stir.
4. Place in refrigerator until partially set (it will finish firming up after you add the cherries in the next step.)
5. Remove from refrigerator and stir in the chopped cherries then spoon mixture into the jelly jars leaving about ½ inch of space at top so you can add whipped cream later. Refrigerate until firm.
   

1. It helps to cool the beater(s) and mixing bowl ahead of time. Add one cup of heavy cream to a cold mixing bowl and beat until soft peaks form. Add ½ teaspoon vanilla and ¼ powdered sugar and continue to mix until whipped cream is firmer.
2. Spoon onto cherry Jello mixture.

 
I make this the day before in the individual containers then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. I add the whipped cream before serving. Since heavy cream comes in pint size containers, I double the whipped cream recipe, so I have some for the pumpkin pies too. Adjust powdered sugar and vanilla to your liking. I'll admit we like our whipped cream sweet, so many times I add a bit more than the ¼ cup.

~Nina Redding