It's officially summer which means cherries are in the peak of their quick growing season and we are savoring those precious little stone fruits any which way we can. More specifically though, with this Gluten Free Fresh Cherry Pretzel Tart! It has mega crunch from the gluten free salted pretzel and walnut studded crust, a heavenly cheesecake-esque schemer that is scented with brown sugar and vanilla, a heaping helping of juicy Brooks cherries, all coated in a sweet slather of honey and basil leaves. It's summertime magic for the tastebuds which means this tart definitely deserves a place at your kitchen table soon!
{{ The recipe for this Gluten Free Fresh Cherry Pretzel Tart and the post that goes with it was made in partnership with California Grown! We received compensation and product in exchange for it. Opinions are always our own. If we don’t love it, you don’t hear about it. Thanks for your continued support! }}
In our house, now more than ever, we are taking a closer look at our food system and want to ensure that we are supporting hard working American farmers and business owners with our purchases whenever we can!
Karen Ross, Secretary of California's Department of Food and Agriculture recently wrote a letter addressing the hardships that the Corona virus pandemic has had on agriculture in the state of California and as a consumer who has been terribly worried about our food system during the crisis I found her opening comments about how is it is for US as consumers can help support California farmers so comforting.
"After all that we’ve been through these past few months, Californians are long overdue for a reason to break bread in celebration. Now, we have one. By simply enjoying the delicious foods made from the world’s best ingredients (which are obviously grown right here in California) – we can help support the 1.2 million jobs and $263 billion in state revenue that California farming generates each year." You can read the rest of Secretary Ross' letter by clicking here.
I believe that being an educated consumer will never steer you wrong. We should be putting as much, if not more effort into understanding our food and the food system as we do the other purchases we make in our daily lives like clothes and cars.
In fact, we geek out on fun food factoids around here! So here are a few facts about California Grown farmers and cherries that we thought you should know...
- There are over 400 crops grown in the state of California.
- Farms in the state of California produce ⅓ of the vegetables and two thirds of the fruits and nuts in the U.S.
- Fresh cherry season usually runs from April-June.
- There are about 850 cherry farmers in California.
- California grows 6 main varieties of cherries: Bing , Brooks, Chelan, Coral, Rainier, and Tulare.
- YOU have the power to request that your local grocery store chain carry California Grown produce instead of imported options. Click here for a shopping guide that shows you how to tell if an item in your store is California Grown or not.
You don't really need much special equipment when it comes to making this Gluten Free Fresh Cherry Pretzel Tart except for a food processor to turn the gluten free pretzels into crumbs, but you should know how to store cherries so that they don't go bad in your refrigerator before you can eat them all!
There is nothing worse than bringing home a bag of big, beautiful cherries only to find that they have quickly gone south in the fridge! We asked the experts at California Cherries what the best way to store fresh cherries is and their advice is to wash them, completely dry them and store them in the fridge with the stem intact. If you plan on freezing them, wash and dry the cherries. Then pit them and remove the stem if you'd like, freeze in a freezer-safe bag with the air removed.
Hungry for even more cherry recipes? We've got ya covered!
Gluten Free Cherry Oat Bars || Starbucks beloved Michigan Cherry Oat bars have got NOTHING on my homemade gluten free cherry oat bars! These babies are rich and decadent with a crisp, buttery crumb that we just cannot get enough of around here.
Cherry Basil Tabbouleh || Our Cherry Basil Tabbouleh is packed with unexpected ingredients that have superfood status like quinoa, basil, and succulent sweet dark cherries.
Easy Cherry Ginger Chutney || This is one of my favorite ways to infuse the flavor of cherries into savory dinners from the grill and epic cheese boards all summer long!
I know that you have the power to #choosewhatyouconsume and I am just SO honored that you have made the choice to spend a little bit of your time here with us, thank you! If you’ve made this Gluten Free Fresh Cherry Pretzel Tart I would be so grateful if you would rate the recipe and let me know what you think in the comments below, I just love hearing from you and your reviews and comments really help others that visit This Mess is Ours.
Want to be a part of our online community outside of the blog? It’s easy!! All you have to do is follow @THISMESSISOURS on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, TWITTER, YOUTUBE, or PINTEREST to see cooking demos, live #CoronaCall ‘s, and peeks into our day to day life.
PrintGluten Free Fresh Cherry Pretzel Tart
The perfect easy to make tart for dessert or brunch!
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 10
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Dessert
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
For the crust
2 cups finely crushed gluten free pretzel crumbs
½ cup toasted walnuts, finely chopped
1 large egg, beaten
6 tablespoons salted butter, melted
4 tablespoons honey, plus more for serving
For the topping
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
¼ cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
2 cups fresh, pitted California cherry halves
2-3 tablespoons basil leaves for garnish, left whole if leaves are small, chiffonade if leaves are larger, optional
Instructions
Make the crust
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, stir together the pretzel crumbs, walnuts, egg, butter, and 3 tablespoons of the honey until well combined. Pour the mixture onto the prepared sheet pan and pat the crust into the shape of a square that is roughly ¼ inch thick. Bake until lightly toasted, 10-15 minutes. Cool completely.
Make the topping
Beat the softened cream cheese, brown sugar, and vanilla together until smooth and creamy then spread the mixture lightly over the top of the cooled pretzel crust leaving a small border around the edge.
To serve
Right before serving, arrange the fresh cherry halves over the cream cheese mixture. Drizzle with remaining honey and sprinkle basil leaves over the top if using.
Notes
To make this in advance, you can bake the crust 1 day ahead of when you would like to serve this tart. Once baked and cooled keep the crust at room temperature tightly wrapped in plastic wrap
The cream cheese topping can be prepared up to 3 days ahead of time once blended, store in airtight container in the refrigerator. When ready to assemble the tart, bring the cream cheese mixture to room temperature and stir well before assembling the tart.
Once the tart is assembled the pretzels will begin to get soggy after a few hours, so assemble right when you plan to serve.
If you have a nut allergy, omit the walnuts.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 square
- Calories: 324
- Sugar: 21.1 g
- Sodium: 381.7 mg
- Fat: 19.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 35.4 g
- Protein: 4.7 g
- Cholesterol: 60.5 mg
Keywords: gluten free tart, gluten free baking, gluten free dessert
Carole from Carole's Chatter says
Hope you bring this over to Food on Friday - which is just getting under way. Cheers