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    Home » Recipes » Plain Culture

    Amish Cherry Delight

    Published: Mar 23, 2021 · Updated: Feb 1, 2023 by Kevin Williams | 7 Comments

    Jump to Recipe

     This recipe was given to me by an Amish woman in Kentucky.  "Cherry Delight" is one of those old Amish "workhorse recipes" and what I mean is that the recipe isn't terribly glamorous or beautiful but it is always there.  

    An Amish Favorite

    At most Amish gatherings, whether it be a funeral or a wedding, you'll find Cherry Delight being served.  Not sure how it became such a mainstay, but it is a classic Amish comfort food dessert.    The Amish cook also advises that you can layer the dessert in a clear glass bowl instead of a pan and that if the cream cheese is not available it is a delicious dessert with vanilla or caramel pudding.

    Of all the desserts in the world that are out there, why is Cherry delight so popular among the Amish?  I suppose there are several reasons I could go with… One, it just became popular among the Amish somehow, someway, and once a tradition gets started, it tends to stick. 

    George Washington Pudding?

    (Melodie Davis, a former editor at MennoMedia, wrote a piece that gives a bit more insight into the dessert and its other name "George Washington Pudding")


    The other reasons for the dessert's popularity are more nuanced… Whether it’s a wedding or a funeral, or just an after-church gathering, conveying cheer and comfort is something people want to do in such a situation. All of those occasions call for cheer, and what better to deliver that than a splash bright red cherries?


    Another reason goes to the recipe itself, it really is very easy to make. Yet, it’s not so easy to make that you just stir and bake, where there’s no effort put into it. '


    Cherry delight is also easy to adjust the ingredient amounts so that you can make enough for a massive group or make enough for just a couple people. It’s just a dessert that can be made to scale very easily. Oh, and if you are a person who doesn't really care for cherries (that would be me), you can easily convert this to "Strawberry Delight" or "Blueberry Delight."

    Amish Cherry Delight

    Interestingly, the recipe I have calls for "thickened pie filling", but with no additional detail to go on, I just used regular cherry pie filling and it was fine. But perhaps she meant cornstarch to thicken a little? I don't know. You can also make it in a 9 X 13 pan, that would be the easiest and most sensible route. But you can do individual serving containers like we did.

    Jump to:
    • 🍒 Amish Cherry Delight
    • 📋 Delight Instructions
    • 🍒 More Amish Cherry Recipes
    • 🖨️ Cherry Delight

    🍒 Amish Cherry Delight

    • 1 1 /4 cup graham cracker crumbs
    • 1 /4 cup butter, softened
    • 1 /4 cup brown sugar
    • 1 8-ounce package cream cheese
    • 1 cup powdered sugar
    • 1 cup whipping cream
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla
    • 1 /4 cup sugar
    • 1 can cherry pie filling

    📋 Delight Instructions

    1. Mix graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, and butter together.
    2. Press into a 9 X 13" pan.
    3. Beat in cream cheese and powdered sugar.
    4. Whip cream.
    5. Add sugar and vanilla.
    6. Mix into cream cheese.
    7. Spread over crust.
    8. Top with cherry pie filling.
    9. Any pie filling may be used.

    🍒 More Amish Cherry Recipes

    Amish Sour Cherry Pie

    Cherry Pudding

    Cherry Coffeecake

    3-Ingredient Cherry Dump Cake

    🖨️ Cherry Delight

    Amish Cherry Delight

    Amish Cherry Delight

    This Amish recipe is a tried and true favorite. It shows up at many gatherigs such as weddings or funerals. It's colorful, festive, easy to serve (usually brought in a large pan, not served in elegant single serving dishes like pictured here). Cherry Delight is definitely an Amish favorite!
    4 from 1 vote
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine American, Amish

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 1 /4 cup cup graham cracker crumbs
    • 1 /4 cup butter softened
    • 1 /4 cup brown sugar
    • 1 8 ounce package cream cheese
    • 1 cup powdered sugar
    • 1 cup whipping cream
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla
    • 1 /4 cup sugar
    • 1 can cherry pie filling

    Instructions
     

    • Mix graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, and butter together.
    • Press into a 9 X 13" pan.
    • Beat in cream cheese and powdered sugar.
    • Whip cream.
    • Add sugar and vanilla and Mix into cream cheese.
    • Spread over crust.
    • Top with cherry pie filling.
    • Chill for at least an hour and serve.
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
    « The Amish Cook's Homestyle Egg Salad
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    About Kevin Williams

    Hi, my name is Kevin Williams and I am owner of Oasis Newsfeatures and editor of The Amish Cook newspaper column.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Virginia

      January 10, 2017 at 6:37 pm

      Yes, give-up the coke and any other sodas...we only keep soda around for upset tummies or if my husband has a drop in his blood sugar...otherwise, it's a rare, occasional treat. I heard from several sources and have read articles that have not been proven, just speculation, but that there will be more and more men dealing with osteoporosis because of soda. I know when I drink gingerale or other sodas, I actually ache and feel badly from them. They also cause me to retain extra fluid...reason enough for me.

      Living in AZ doesn't mean you have to give-up snow. There are places like Flagstaff where they get a fair amount and then there are places in between the hottest parts of AZ and the cooler northern parts...places like Payson or Sedona.

      Reply
      • Kevin

        January 11, 2017 at 9:20 am

        Virginia, SIGH, I know, it is bad, bad stuff...and, yes, Arizona, I would think would almost have the best of all worlds, except, no ocean! If I were going to live someplace warm, I'd like ocean

        Reply
    2. Ann

      September 06, 2019 at 12:38 pm

      The recipe says one ounce cream cheese. Surely it's either 4 or 8 oz (or more?) Thank you.

      Reply
    3. Pat Markley

      July 29, 2020 at 5:05 pm

      Ann, I'm with ya. Some of these recipes are confusing. Not sure if they're right half the time because they're like the old folks...a pinch of that, etc. Wish there were pics also.

      Reply
      • Kevin

        July 30, 2020 at 11:41 am

        Hi, Pat, I wish all recipes could have photos and I am trying to go that direction, but it is time-consuming. Amish recipes are often spare on instructions, that, unfortunately, is one of the hazards of these recipes. Cherry Delight is a good one, though!

        Reply
    4. Nana====

      March 23, 2021 at 5:30 pm

      4 stars
      I believe it is 1 8 0z bar of cream cheese. I made this back in the sixties in home ec . class. We used dream whip in the original, now I just use cool whip. If you use canned cherry pie filling it is thickened. I think the writer was referring to thicken an cook fresh or canned in water cherries when shesays thicken with cornstarch..

      Reply
      • Kevin Williams

        March 23, 2021 at 7:18 pm

        Thanks for the insight, Nana, and, yes, there was a typo, I corrected it, should be 1 8 ounce bar of cream cheese

        Reply

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    Kevin Williams - The Amish Editor Amish Cook Column

    Hi There, I'm Kevin!

    Welcome to Amish365, where I share my knowledge of Amish cooking and culture! I’ve spent almost three decades exploring Amish settlements and kitchens from Maine to Montana and almost everywhere in between. I’ll occasionally throw in stories of my travels, journalism adventures (I’m a Pulitzer prize-nominated journalist), fascination with grocery stores and Kmarts, and much more!

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