cherry almond jam

still drooling over last week's cherry almond snacking cakes? love the combination of cherries and almond as much as my aunt judy & i do? as promised, here is an amazingly delicious way to use up the last of your cherries and enjoy them the rest of the year.

cherry almond jam
adapted from ball blue book guide to canning
1 1/2 hours, makes about 8.5 pints

2 1/4 pounds sweet cherries, pitted (between 6 & 7 cups)
1 package powdered pectin
3/4 cup almond liqueur (i used amaretto)
3 tablespoons lemon juice
4 1/2 cups sugar

1. prepare your water bath, jars and lids for canning. ball has a good intro to canning guide on their website if you're new to canning.


2. place about half of the cherries in the bowl of a food processor. pulse until they're at the consistency you want. pour into a large nonreactive saucepan. repeat with the remaining half of the cherries.


3. add the pectin, liqueur, and lemon juice to the cherries and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. 


4. add the sugar and stir until dissolved. return to a rolling boil and boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. remove from heat, skim foam, ladle hot jam into hot jars. adjust two piece caps and process 10 minutes in a boiling water canner.