| (NAPSI)-For a festive finish to a holiday menu, consider a lightly sweetened and deliciously tangy cherry sorbet. As brilliantly colored as a poinsettia or a winter berry, this dish is scrumptious served with assorted chocolates and cookies. Or, you can garnish each serving with slivered almonds and chocolate chips. When entertaining visitors or holiday guests, it's a good idea to keep a bag or two of frozen cherries on hand. It's a quick way to add the fresh taste of summer to smoothies, quick breads or simple desserts such as cherry crisp or pie. Or, just serve thawed cherries topped with ice cream or whipped topping. Sweet Cherry Sorbet Serves 6 1/2 cup hot water 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup pineapple or cherry juice 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon rum extract, optional 1 16-oz. bag frozen pitted dark sweet cherries, thawed, juices reserved Stir first 5 ingredients in medium bowl until sugar dissolves; set aside. Coarsely chop cherries and reserved cherry juices in food processor. Add sugar mixture; blend until smooth. Pour cherry mixture into ice cream maker and follow manufacturers instructions. When done, transfer sorbet to tightly covered container; freeze until solid, at least 3 hours. Recipe can be doubled and made 2 days ahead. Keep frozen. NOTE: If you don't have an ice cream maker, pour mixture into 9-inch square pan; freeze 1? hours or until edges are solid but center is slushy. Spoon frozen mixture into processor; process to a course texture. Pour back into pan; freeze an additional 1? hours. Process again. Transfer to a covered container and freeze 3 hours or longer. For more recipes and tips, visit www.nationalcherries.com.
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