Cherry Stone Liqueur Food

CHERRY STONE LIQUEUR

Steps:

• Wash and thouroughly dry the cherry stones. Crush them with a heavy rolling pin and put them in a jar with the brandy. Add the sugar, cover and shake well.
• Leave in a warm place for about 1 month. Strain and pour into sterilized bottles and cork tightly.
• Note: Other stone fruits, one type only or a mixture, can also be made into liqueurs.

CHERRY LIQUEUR

Steps:

• Mix vodka, brandy and sugar in a large glass measure or medium mixing bowl; stir well to dissolve.
• Cut each washed cherry slightly to open, leave in pits.
• Place cherries in two sterile, quart wide mouth jars or one larger aging container.
• Pour liquid mixture over cherries; stir and cap with tight lids.
• For the first two weeks, shake jars several times.
• Let age in a cool, dark place for at least 3 months for best flavor.
• Strain off liqueur through a wire mesh strainer and discard cherries.
• Rebottle as desired.
• Liqueur is ready in 3 months.
• VARIATIONS:Almond-Cherry Liqueur: For a more prominent"almond" flavor, pit all or part of the cherries.
• Place cherry pits in a clean cloth and hit with a hammer to break them up slightly.
• Put broken pits and pitted cherries in jars or large container and continue as directed.
• Sugarless Cherry Liqueur: Substitute 1 cup apple juice concentrate, undiluted, for the sugar in the Cherry Liqueur recipe.
• Proceed as directed.
• The"sugars" present will be natural fruit sugars rather than the granulated processed sugars.
• Taste is excellent; aging is the same.

CHERRY COBBLER

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375° F.
• Make filling:
• In a large heavy saucepan whisk together sugar and cornstarch. Add fresh or frozen cherries, liqueur, vanilla, and allspice and bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally. Simmer mixture, stirring, 2 minutes and transfer to a shallow 2-quart baking dish.
• Make topping:
• Cut butter into pieces. In a bowl with a pastry blender or in a food processor blend or pulse together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt, and butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. If using a food processor transfer mixture to a bowl. Add milk and vanilla and stir until mixture forms a dough.
• Drop topping by rounded tablespoons onto cherry filling (do not completely cover it) and bake in middle of oven 40 minutes, or until topping is golden and cooked through. Transfer cobbler to a rack to cool slightly.
• Serve cobbler warm with ice cream.