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[1] With chocolate chunks, you get bigger bites of chocolate (photos #1, #2, #3, and #8 Abacus).
[2] Otherwise, chocolate chips work perfectly well. .
[3] You can use white bread, but rich brioche makes any dessert grilled cheese sandwich better.
[4] Brie is perfect for dessert grilled cheese, but we have plenty of alternatives below (photo © Isigny Sainte-Mère).
[5] Top with cherry pie filling (photo © Chukar Cherries).
[6] Add as many as you like (photo © Bella Baker).
[7] The recipe calls for chopped almonds, but you can substitute another favorite nut. We made a version with one of our faves, pistachios, and liked it equally well. If you’re chopping your own almonds, you an use cinnamon-, honey-glazed, or spiced nuts for an extra layer of flavor (photo © Amazon).
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While George Washington never chopped down a cherry tree, the myth created in his first biography by Parson Weems will never die*. Acknowledging this, we elect to celebrate his birthday each year, February 22, with a new cherry recipe.
We adapted the following recipe from one we found on Taste Of Home, called Cherry-Chocolate Pudgy Pie, created by Josh Carter of Birmingham, Alabama.
Although it had no cheese (see photo #10 at the bottom), we thought: Let’s turn this into a grilled cheese sandwich with Brie!
We made it on brioche (photo #3), a rich, tender French pastry-bread renowned for its high egg and butter content.
We quartered the sandwich, and served it as dessert with a glass of vin santo dessert wine†, which pairs nicely with the dark chocolate in the recipe†.
While Josh makes his Pudgy Pie for campfires and cookouts, we turned the concept into a great indoor snack and dessert.
Below:
> The chocolate-cherry grilled cheese recipe.
> Beyond Brie: different cheeses you can use.
> More chocolate-cherry recipes.
Elsewhere on The Nibble:
> More dessert grilled cheese recipes.
> The history of the grilled cheese sandwich.
> The history of the sandwich.
> The different types of sandwiches: a photo glossary.
> The history of Brie.
> The history of cherries.
> Homemade cherry pie filling recipe.
> 20 more ways to use cherry pie filling.
> The year’s 25+ sandwich holidays.
> The year’s 30 cheese holidays.
> The year’s 15+ cherry holidays.
RECIPE: CHERRY-CHOCOLATE DESSERT GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH
We made the sandwich both on good-quality white bread and on brioche. Brioche wins!
You can also make a simpler recipe on toast with cream cheese or mascarpone, no grilling needed.
Ingredients
2 slices white bread, brioche (photo #3), or challah (photo #9)
3 tablespoons cherry pie filling
1 tablespoon chopped almonds or other nut
1 tablespoon semisweet chocolate chips
Preparation
1. PLACE 1 slice of bread in a greased sandwich iron, panini press, or grill pan. Spread with pie filling; top with almonds, chocolate chips and remaining bread slice.
2. COOK until golden brown and heated through, 3-6 minutes, turning occasionally.
BRIE CHEESE ALTERNATIVES
Camembert:, a sister to Brie with a similarly rich, creamy texture and bloomy rind, but with a slightly more intense, earthy flavor. Here’s the difference.
Coulommiers: A French cheese actually known as “Brie’s little sister,” similar in texture and flavor.
Fontina: A semi-soft cheese with a mild, nutty flavor that melts beautifully, creating a very gooey, rich sandwich.
Havarti: A mild, creamy Danish cheese that provides a very buttery, mild, and gooey texture without the a rind (for those who don’t care for Brie’s bloomy rind).
Mascarpone: Very soft with a natural sweetness.
Mozzarella: A superior, gooey, stringy stretch, it also acts as a neutral base, ideal for pairing with the flavors of cherries and chocolate.
Port Salut: A mild, creamy semi-soft cheese that melts wonderfully.
Reblochon: A similarly Brie-like creamy, bloomy-rinded experience.
Taleggio: An Italian washed-rind cheese that is very similar in creaminess to brie but offers a slightly more complex, nutty, and savory taste that pairs well with fruit, jam, or bacon.
MORE CHOCOLATE-CHERRY RECIPES
Black Forest Cake
Black Forest Cupcakes
Cherry Cheesecake With Chocolate Glaze
Cherry Chocolate Chip Coookies
Chocolate-Cherry Brownies
Chocolate-Cherry Cupcakes
Chocolate-Covered Cherries
[8] Mascarpone and dulce de leche make this grilled cheese sandwich a sweet treat. Here’s the recipe. You can add a layer of raspberry preserves or fresh raspberries (photo © Dairy Farmers Of Wisconsin).
[9] Challah is a more affordable alternative to brioche. Both are rich, yeasted, egg-based breads; as enriched doughs, they share a similar, slightly sweet, and buttery taste, making them ideal substitutes for each other in recipes like grilled cheese and French toast (note that challah is dairy-free, substituting olive/vegetable oil for butter).
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[10] The original inspiration: Cherry-Chocolate Pudgy Pie. Here’s the recipe (photo © Taste Of Home).
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*More George Washington myths: He never had wooden teeth. His dentures were made of materials like ivory, gold, lead, and even human teeth from enslaved people, which were wired together. Nor did he wear a wig. Even though it was the fashion of the time, Washington kept his own hair long, tied back, and powdered white. The list goes on.
†Dessert wine wine pairings with dark chocolate: Banyuls, late harvest Zinfandel, Maury, Port, shiraz, and Vin Santo. The Nibble capitalizes words that are a proper nouns, e.g., New York cheesecake.
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