Amaretto Cherries with Dumplings

The seder. Seven people at my table. I set the table on Saturday afternoon with the care of a woman who has not set a communal table in over a year and who is treating each plate, each glass, each napkin, each placement of a fork as an act of restoration, because the table has been empty for so long that filling it again requires intention, requires ceremony, requires the specific attention that you give to something you almost lost and have been returned to.

David carried the brisket. Jennifer managed the children. Rebecca and Thomas arrived with wine and flowers. Hannah, one month old, slept in her carrier at Jennifer's feet. Noah, almost two, was placed on a booster seat and immediately attempted to eat the parsley from the seder plate. Ethan, seven, asked the four questions — the Mah Nishtanah, the youngest child's questions that open the telling of the Exodus story — and his voice was clear and strong and the Hebrew was practiced and perfect and I sat at the head of my table and listened to my grandson ask, "Why is this night different from all other nights?" and I thought: because you are here. Because you are all here. Because the table is full and the brisket is hot and the baby is sleeping and the candles are lit and this night is different from all other nights because for three hundred and sixty-five nights I cooked for two and tonight I am cooking for seven and the difference between two and seven is not five, it is everything.

Marvin sat at the table. He did not lead the seder — I led it, for the second year — but he sat, and he listened, and when we came to the blessings over the wine, his lips moved with the Hebrew, the ancient words surfacing from wherever the disease has not yet reached, and the room went quiet for a moment, all of us watching Marvin's lips move, all of us witnessing the same thing: the man is still in there. The words are still in there. The Hebrew that his parents taught him and their parents taught them is still in there, stored in the deepest vault, the last room in the house that the thief has not yet entered. We watched. We waited. His lips stopped. The moment passed. David looked at me. I looked at David. We did not speak. The matzo ball soup was served. The seder continued. The chain did not break.

After the matzo ball soup was served and the seder continued and the chain did not break, we needed something sweet — not complicated, not showy, just warm and generous and a little unexpected, the way the whole evening had been. I had made these Amaretto Cherries with Dumplings before, but never for seven people, and spooning those soft, pillowy dumplings into bowls for my children and my grandchildren and my husband felt like a small echo of everything the night had already given us: something yielding dropped into something rich, carried by warmth, and made better by the people surrounding it.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 40 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

2 cans (14.5 oz each) pitted tart cherries in juice, undrained
1/2 cup sugar, divided
3 tablespoons amaretto liqueur
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, for serving (optional)

Instructions

Prepare the cherry base. Pour both cans of cherries and their juice into a large, wide saucepan or deep skillet. Stir in 1/4 cup of the sugar and the amaretto. In a small bowl, whisk the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold water until smooth, then stir into the cherry mixture. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the sauce thickens slightly, about 4 to 5 minutes. Reduce heat to a low simmer.
Make the dumpling batter. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and remaining 1/4 cup sugar. In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the milk, melted butter, egg, and almond extract. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir gently just until a soft, slightly sticky batter forms — do not overmix.
Drop the dumplings. Using a large spoon or a 1/4-cup scoop, drop rounds of batter directly onto the surface of the simmering cherry mixture, spacing them evenly. You should have 6 to 8 dumplings. They will sit on top of the cherries.
Cover and cook. Place a tight-fitting lid on the pan and cook over low heat, without lifting the lid, for 15 to 18 minutes, until the dumplings are cooked through and a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean. The tops will look matte and set rather than wet or glossy.
Serve warm. Ladle one or two dumplings per bowl with a generous spoonful of the amaretto cherry sauce spooned over and around them. Serve immediately with whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream if desired.

Nutrition (per serving)

Amaretto Cherries with Dumplings — The Dumplings That Held the Table Together