Monday, July 18, 2011

Drunken Cherries


Isn't that a wonderful title? Drunken cherries - yum. I have officially purchased my canning set for the summer and have begun trying all sorts of recipes from the cookbook I purchased earlier in the year Put 'em Up by Sherri Brooks Vinton.

One of the first recipes that caught my eye was this one for Drunken Cherries. Vinton says these delightful things can be used as a topping for ice cream or in various cocktails. They'd also be great over brownies, cake, custard, mousse or a million other things! They were super easy to make and fortunately, I'd received 1 lb. of gorgeous organic Bing Cherries in my CSA box the week before.

Drunken Cherries
Ingredients:

1 lb sweet cherries, such as Bing, stemmed but not pitted
1.5 cups bourbon (brandy, Cognac or other like liquor could be used instead)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup water

1. Cut a slit in each cherry with a small paring knife to allow the flavors to soak through. Combine the cherries and the liquor in a quart jar. (I used Cognac as we were out of bourbon.)

2. Bring the sugar and water to a boil in a medium saucepan, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Pour the syrup into the cherry-filled jar. Cover and shake. Let rest for at least 1 week. Keeps at room temperature for up to 1 year.

2 comments:

  1. I would love to do this with the cherries from my cherry trees in my yard - trouble is - most of the cherries are at the top and b/c our yard slants - we can't get up there! Bummer! These look wonderful though!

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  2. B, you gotta get a cherry picker! My neighbor behind me has a huge cherry tree in bloom - they don't pick them and I can't reach them or find a person to ask if I can come and get them! Ace Hardware should sell a cherry picker - go get one and start picking!!!

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