Tart Cherry Liqueur Recipes

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.

TART CHERRY COCKTAIL RECIPE

Steps:

• Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add tart cherry juice concentrate, lime juice, Cointreau, and vodka. Shake until well chilled, about 15 seconds. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with lime slice or twist and serve.

TART CHERRY COBBLER

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• In a large bowl, gently stir the cherries, brown sugar, and white sugar until all the sugar has dissolved. Mix in the tapioca, almond extract, cinnamon, and salt. Let stand 15 minutes. Pour into a 9x13 inch baking dish, and dot with butter.
• Roll our pie pastry into a rectangle slightly larger than the baking dish, and place over the cherries. Tuck in corners, and make several slits in the dough. Brush with milk.
• Bake 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until crust is lightly browned and filling is bubbly. Cool 1 hour before serving.

CHERRY TART

Steps:

• Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll out to a 12-inch round, a bit less than 1/4 inch thick; fit in a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line shell with parchment paper, leaving a 1-inch overhang. Fill with pie weights. Bake for about 20 minutes. Remove parchment and weights. Bake until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
• Whisk together sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium saucepan. Whisk together milk and egg yolks in a glass measuring cup. Add milk mixture to the saucepan, along with butter. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Let boil 1 minute. Remove from heat and add vanilla.
• Strain pastry cream through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and immediately whisk in 4 teaspoons cherry liqueur. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours or up to 2 days. Just before using, whisk until smooth.
• Fold whipped cream into chilled pastry cream and transfer to cooled tart shell. Working from the outside in, shingle cherries in concentric circles to cover completely.
• Heat preserves in a small saucepan over medium heat until warm. Add remaining teaspoon kirsch and stir to combine. Brush mixture over cherries. Refrigerate until ready to serve.