Cherries Jubilee (sans fire, but includes alcohol)

June 28, 2010

The last two weeks of my Wayward Seed CSA have provided with probably about 5 pounds of cherries. And since a girl can only eat so many fresh cherries before things start getting out of control, it was time to put those cherries to other uses. Not pictured is the pie I made for a cookout on Saturday. What I am showing above are the brandied cherries I made for future cocktails (super delicious Manhattan, anyone?).

Before I go any further, I just want to say that if you like cherries, invest a couple of buck in a cherry pitter. I got mine a number of years ago from Pampered Chef, and seriously, folks, it's absolutely worth the money. Not only is it more efficient than using a paperclip or chopstick, but you can also use if for pitting olives, if you're like me and put those full-of-salty-goodness-Kalamatas in everything you make.

Below is the recipe I used for the brandied cherries, below that, a ridiculously sick (in a good way) chocolate cherry cookie recipe.

Brandied Cherries

1 pound sweet cherries, pitted
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C water
2 t lemon juice
1 cinnamon stick
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1 t vanilla extract
1 C of brandy

Wash and pit the cherries. In a saucepan, combine all ingredients except the cherries and liqueur and bring to a rolling boil. When the liquid begins to boil, reduce the heat to medium. Add the cherries and simmer for 5–7 minutes. Remove from heat, add the liqueur, and let cool. Transfer the cherries and liquid into clean jars and refrigerate, uncovered, until cherries are cool to touch. Cover tightly and refrigerate for up to two weeks. (I've read that you can keep these in the fridge for much longer than two weeks--FYI.)

I like cooking with cherries because it always looks like a massacre while you're pitting/chopping them:

Double (Triple?) Chocolate Cherry Cookies

This recipe is based on this one from epicurious, I just tweaked some things. Watch out, the batter is eat-by-the-spoonful delicious. Also, I found that if you keep the dough in the freezer in between batches, it helps the cookies maintain some sort of shape (the dough was extra soft due to the fresh cherries and preserves--I was concerned about the cocoa powder making them too dry). In the future, I might try this recipe in brownie form; I think this will excel in a more sturdy format.

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs

1-2 tablespoons of cherry preserves (optional)
1 cup or so of chocolate chips (I had semi-sweet and bitter-sweet on hand)
1 cup (ish) chopped fresh cherries

Preheat oven to 375°F with racks in upper and lower thirds.

Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.

Beat together butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, then add eggs 1 at a time, beating until combined well. Fold in flour (I love folding, it's more time consuming, but won't toughen up your batter), mixing until just combined. Add chocolate chunks, pecans, and cherries and mix until just incorporated.

Drop 2 level tablespoons of dough per cookie about 2 inches apart onto 2 lightly greased, large baking sheets (or us parchment paper).

Bake until puffed and set, 12 to 14 minutes.

Transfer cookies to a rack to cool. They're not the most attractive looking cookies, but damn, they are delicious!