For the past year, Food52.com readers have been voting in weekly showdowns of reader-submitted recipes on a given theme. The winning recipes of each week will end up in Food52's upcoming cookbook, along with bios of the people who submitted them (Food52 explains the process in simple detail here).
Food52 and its co-founders Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs have invited you, fun-loving HuffPost Food readers, to vote on the contest for week 2 (of the second year).
Week 2's showdown is for the best use of cherries.
Check the finalists out below, and vote for your favorite here.
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Cherry Brown Sugar Fool with Honey Almonds
Photo: Sarah Shatz
Amanda and Merrill's notes on "Cherry Brown Sugar Fool with Honey Almonds" at Food52.com:
Slulibby is certainly no fool when it comes to crafting her own version of this traditional British dessert: an ethereal cloud of cream shot through with cherry and almond. She allows the sweet, juicy cherries to shine by doing very little to them; a touch of sugar, lemon juice and almond extract, followed by a quick simmer, render them lightly syrupy and soft without turning them to mush. Once the fruit has cooled, she folds it - just barely! - into freshly whipped cream, lightly kissed with brown sugar and vanilla. The crowning glory: crystalline shards of brittle made with sliced almonds and honey. - A&M
View the "Cherry Brown Sugar Fool with Honey Almonds" recipe here.
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Cherry Jam with Lemon-Pepper Shortbread
Photo: Sarah Shatz
Amanda and Merrill's notes on "Cherry Jam with Lemon-Pepper Shortbread" at Food52.com:
As Merrill pointed out, this brilliant dessert is like "a deconstructed Linzer torte." Instead of jam embedded in a shortbread dough, it's spooned on top. Which means you can make both components ahead of time (up to 2 days) and assemble them to serve. In fact, you should make the shortbread at least a day ahead because the lemon and pepper come out of hibernation with a little sitting. The other great detail about the shortbread is DolcettoConfections's technique for "rolling" it out. Instead of chilling the dough and rolling it, she has you pat the dough (right after mixing it) to a 1/4-inch-thick rectangle between layers of plastic wrap. The dough then chills quickly and is ready for cookie cutting. - A&M
View the "Cherry Jam with Lemon-Pepper Shortbread" recipe here.
Vote for this recipe here.