You can turn velvety apricots and sweet, juicy cherries into a spirited confection—with a little help from your liquor cupboard.
Everything Cherries Week continues here at Seed to Pantry as we celebrate fresh, sweet cherries and my role as a Washington State Fruit Commission Canbassador.
What is a Canbassador?
As a Canbassador I create and share recipes for preserved cherry products and write about the process and results. It’s a tasty job that lets me experiment with fruit, flavor, and preservation techniques.
You can learn more about Washington stone fruits and preserving at the SweetPreservation site, which offers canning and freezing instructions, ideas for preservation gatherings, tips for choosing ripe fruit, and printable labels for your jars. There are also fun badges and resources for bloggers and home preservers.
Earlier this week I shared recipes for Cherry-Lime Jam and Cherry Mostarda. Today I’m borrowing a bottle from the liquor cupboard to make a Small Batch Spirited Apricot-Cherry Butter.
Cooking with Spirits
After exploring many fruit combinations, I began experimenting with spirits to intensify and complement fruit flavors rather than overpower them. Small bottles of liqueurs suggested new pairings: the right spirit can deepen fruit character and add a subtle, rounded note once the alcohol cooks away.
This apricot-cherry butter is one of my favorite results. The apricot provides a soft, tangy backbone while cherries add sweetness, and Grand Marnier brings an orange, cognac-rich warmth that ties the flavors together. Grand Marnier is an orange-flavored cognac; compared with unaged triple secs like Cointreau, it tends to offer a rounder, more developed profile that pairs well with delicate stone fruits. During cooking the alcohol evaporates, leaving the aromatic flavor behind.
- 10 large apricots
- 1 cup sweet cherries, pitted
- 2 ¼ cups sugar
- ¼ cup Grand Marnier
- Chop the apricots into small pieces.
- Place apricots and cherries in a large pot and cook over low heat until the fruit softens, adding a tablespoon or two of water if needed to prevent sticking or scorching.
- Puree the softened fruit using a blender, food processor, or immersion blender until smooth.
- Measure the puree; you should have about 4 ½ cups. Return it to the pot.
- Stir in the sugar and Grand Marnier.
- Cook the mixture over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until it thickens to a spreadable consistency.
- Ladle the hot butter into clean jars, leaving about ¼ inch headspace. Seal with two-piece lids and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes to preserve.
Get Even More Recipes
If you want more all-natural jam and preserve ideas, check out Creative Jams and Preserves for a collection of tested recipes and techniques for handcrafted spreads. The book focuses on straightforward, practical methods that home cooks can use to get consistent, delicious results.
Full disclosure: This recipe was prepared using cherries provided by the Washington State Fruit Commission.