Maraschino Cherries....for real.

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Come on, who doesn't love a maraschino cherry....I know, I know, the ones we grew up with are gross and completely artificial.  Maybe it was those Shirley Temples I had at my parents' cocktail parties in the 70's, that has given them a special place in my heart.  So, in honor of those memories, the next stop on the cherry train are homemade, REAL, maraschino cherries.  (If you missed the first stop, check out my Cherry Bounce recipe here.)

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INGREDIENTS

2 cups of cherries

1 cup of maraschino liqueur (I used Luxardo which I found at Bev Mo)

1/2 cup of sugar

1/2 cup of water

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Pit your cherries.  Because of my aforementioned fondness of Shirley Temples, I wanted to leave the stems on.  (What's the point of a maraschino cherry if you can't pick it up from the stem and pop it in your mouth - right?!?!)  So I angled the pitter to hit right below the stem.  You can also do it from the side, but you end up with a cherry that looks like William Tell had a go at it.

Mix the water, sugar and liqueur into a sauce pan and simmer until the sugar is melted.  Be careful not to catch the entire pan on fire while you finish pitting the cherries....not that I did........

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Take clean mason jars and fill them with your cherries.  Pack them in as tightly as you can without crushing them.

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Pour your liquid over the cherries and screw on your lids.  These will keep in your fridge for months.

Shirley Temple anyone?  Okay, fine, make mine a Manhattan, I am older now.

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