Black Forest Preserves

From Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving, 2006 Edition. Cherries should be pitted, coarsely chopped, then packed to measure 3 cups. Recipe suggests serving with cheese, tucked into ice cream balls to make tartufo, or spread between cake layers or cookie sandwiches. Directions assume knowledge of hot water bath canning procedures. If you are new to canning, the cookbook mentioned above contains wonderfully detailed canning instructions. Another good resource is the Ball Blue Book.

• Ready In: 45 mins
• Yields: 7 half-pints

Ingredients

• 6 1⁄2 cups sugar
• 1⁄3 cup  unsweetened cocoa
• 3  cups  firmly packed coarsely chopped pitted sweet  black cherries
• 1⁄2 cup lemon juice
• 2 (3 ounce) packages  liquid pectin
• 4  tablespoons amaretto liqueur or 1⁄2 teaspoon  almond extract

Directions

1. Prepare canner, jars, and lids.
2. In a bowl, combine sugar and cocoa. Stir well.
3. In a large stainless steel saucepan, combine cherries and lemon juice. Stir in cocoa mixture. Over high heat, stirring constantly, bring to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down.
4. Stir in pectin. Boil hard, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Stir in Amaretto. Remove from heat and skim off foam.
5. Ladle hot preserves into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and add hot preserves if needed. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Screw band tight.
6. Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil, then process for 10 minutes. Remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars.