Easy Stovetop Cherry Grunt

Ingredients

• For the dumplings:
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 1/3 cup plus 1 teaspoon milk
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• For the cherries:
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• Pinch salt
• 6 cups frozen sour cherries
• Whipped cream or ice cream to serve

Directions

1. For the dumplings, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl. Add the cold butter cubes and work them in with your fingertips until you can’t spot any bits of butter, but the mixture still looks light and dry. Pour in the milk and vanilla, then stir only until the dough is dampened. Stop there, because this is not the moment for enthusiasm. Set the bowl aside.
2. For the cherries, stir the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt together in a bowl. Put the cherries and the sugar mixture into a 10-inch saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring now and then, until the sugar has dissolved. Turn the heat up to medium high and cook until the cherries just start to boil. Taste and adjust the sweetness, then lower the heat so the fruit stays at a low boil.
3. Drop generous tablespoon-sized scoops of dumpling dough over the cherries, leaving space between them, for about 6 dumplings total. Cover the pan right away, turn the heat to low, and cook, adjusting the burner as needed so the mixture keeps a steady simmer. No peeking until the dumplings are mostly set, about 25 minutes.
4. Spoon the warm fruit and dumplings into bowls, then serve them as they are or finish with whipped cream or ice cream.