Spiced Boozy Cherries will light up your life

Prep the cherries

Every summer I see gorgeous fruits at the farmer's markets (and grocery!) and hear tales of my mom putting up jars and jars of gorgeous blackberry, peach and plum jams, and feel nothing but jealous. Without the proper equipment, and possibly too lazy to actually do the full "make jelly" routine, I still yearn to participate... and this year, I finally did it, with Boozy Cherries. 

Spiced Boozy Cherries

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound of cherries, rinsed and pitted, stems removed 
• 2 cups of brown sugar 
• 2 cups of bourbon 
• 2 cinnamon sticks 
• 2 star anise 
• Some peppercorns 
• Some cloves

INSTRUCTIONS

1. First, sterilize your jars. You can do this by either running them through a very hot dishwasher setting OR submerging them in boiling water for 10mins or so. 
2. In a medium saucepan, add the brown sugar, bourbon and spices. 
3. Bring to a bubbling simmer and let simmer over medium low heat for about 5 minutes. 
4. Put your pitted cherries into the clean sterilized jars, leaving a bit of headroom at the top. 
5. Pour the bourbon syrup over the cherries and let macerate for 5 - 10 minutes or so. Make sure the cherries are completely submerged in the liquid. 
6. Seal the jars. 
• You can put them in the refrigerator (if you think they will be used up in the next month or so) 
• OR process them in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes (if you'd like to keep the shelf-stable for several months)
7. Enjoy!

Spiced Boozy Cherries

Here is a great article on the hot water bath technique. 

And some general canning tips from The Kitchn. 

The perfect drink to make use of these cherries:  The Old Fashioned.

Check me out near Christmas time for a delicious holiday twist on the classic Old Fashioned!