Cocktail Cherries
Homemade Cocktail Cherries are a delightful and easy-to-make treat. Use them for garnishing cocktails, serve them on ice cream or baked into a cake, They also make a great gift for cocktail loving friends and family.
Ingredients
- 2 lbssour cherries; pitted (or sweet cherries)
- 2 cupssugar
- ½ cupwater
- 1 cupluxardo maraschino liqueur
- 1 cupbrandy or bourbon
- 1lemon; juiced & peeled into 6 strips
- 2cinnamon sticks
- 5whole cloves
Directions
- 1
Wash and sterilize jars by placing them upside down in a tray of water and leaving them in a 225 F oven for at least 10 minutes.
- 2
Wash and place jar lids, rings, funnel and measuring cup in a large saucepan and cover with hot water. Bring to a slight boil, keep warm.
- 3
Meanwhile, place the water, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon sticks, lemon peel, and cloves in a large saucepan. Heat to allow sugar to dissolve. Add small amounts of additional water if needed.
- 4
Add the cherries to the syrup and allow to simmer for one minute.
- 5
Remove from heat and stir in Luxardo and Brandy/Bourbon. Turn heat back on and heat until just about simmering. Do not allow to boil.
- 6
Once you are ready to jar the Cherries, take two hot jars out of the oven. Using a measuring cup and funnel, fill them and top up with a bit of syrup. Leave about 1 cm of head space.
- 7
Tap the jars on the counter top to remove any air bubbles and add more syrup if needed. Quickly top with a lid and fasten the ring just slightly, not too tightly.
- 8
Let the jars to cool undisturbed for 8-12 hours. Check each jar to see if it has sealed. If not, store them in the refrigerator.
- 9
Allow the jars to sit in a dark, cool spot for two weeks. Enjoy!