Cherries for Presidents' Day

George Washington may or may not have chopped down a cherry tree when he was a child. We are now learning that the story we were told as young students to illustrate the importance of telling the truth ("I can not tell a lie, I chopped down the cherry tree"), may itself not be the truth!
But regardless, we have come to associate the First President with cherries. So it is appropriate to have a cherry dessert on Presidents' Day today.
This recipe I found on a friend's website -http://www.gloriagoodtaste.com. I met Gloria when assisting her during the National Festival of Breads contest in 2013. (I hope she makes the finalists selection again this year!). I was delighted to find a recipe different from what I usually do that I actually had the ingredients for and it is easy to prepare! Its a bonus to be a festive dessert without a lot of calories!

FROSTY CHERRY CHOCOLATE JUBILEE            

Frosty Cherry Layer
8 ounces frozen dark sweet seeded cherries
¼ cup Greek vanilla yogurt
1 Tablespoon Agave Nectar

Creamy Chocolate Layer
2 ounces dark chocolate chips
6 Tablespoons Greek vanilla yogurt, divided
1 to 2 Tablespoons toasted sliced almonds
2 frozen cherries, defrosted

Put cherries, ¼ cup yogurt, and Agave Nectar (see blog of August 24, 2014 for information and another recipe about Agave) in food processor; process until pureed.

Spoon in freezer safe container; place in freezer until chilled and ready to use. Stir once if storing for several hours. Do not scoop until ready to use.
Place chocolate chips in microwave safe cup; cook on high power 1 minute or until chocolate melts. Stir until smooth.
In a small bowl, combine ¼ cup vanilla yogurt with melted chocolate until pudding consistency. Spoon half of the chocolate mixture into each fancy 1 cup serving glass.

For serving: With an ice cream scooper, place scoops of frosty cherries on top of the chocolate layer. Garnish the top of each with about 1 Tablespoon vanilla yogurt. Sprinkle with sliced almonds. Garnish each with 1 dark sweet cherry (and mint leaves - that I didn't have!).

The recipe is to serve 2, but I made 3 servings of it as Daughter was here for lunch. There is still enough cherry/yogurt mixture to make a couple of small desserts tomorrow with more chocolate layer.

Gloria suggests this for a gourmet dinner for someone special, it would have been a good Valentine's Day dessert but made a soup lunch special too. The ingredients are all 'should eat' foods. Thanks for sharing, Gloria!