If it's still blackberry season where you are, or if you stocked up at your Farmer's Market this Summer...here are a few simple recipes you must try!
Remember my Triple Crown blackberries from last Summer? ENORMOUS berries with fabulous flavor! The above pic was for my blackberry lemonade recipe, which you can revisit here.
Over the last few weeks, I've had a lot of folks contact me about my recipe for Blackberry Liqueur. This is such a special treat, I decided to repeat the post for all of you and hope that you try it.
Remember you don't have to use Blackberries, if you want to try something different, this recipe works well with sour cherries and currants too!
Four cups of nice, plump blackberries washed and patted dry
Three cups of organic cane sugar (of course you can use every day white sugar; I had to use both, because I ran out of Organic)
Four cups of top shelf Vodka
A gallon size glass jar
Wax paper
Fitted lid (canning jar lids with rings work just fine, as long as they fit snug WITH a layer of wax paper covering the top of the jar first)
A funnel
Make sure your gallon size glass jar is clean, your berries are washed and that you have a cool/dark place to keep your concoction for the next several weeks.
- Using your funnel, put your sugar into your glass jar
- Add your berries next (just let them fall in, don't shake them down, or stir, etc)
- Next carefully add your Vodka
- Take a decent size square of wax paper and place over the opening of your jar
- Now secure your lid/lid and ring tightly (tight enough that if you turn the jar upside down it will not leak)
- Place this in a cool/dark place of your kitchen or pantry and mark your calender that you started this project today
Every day you are going to turn the jar upside down/right side up for the next four weeks.
Around four weeks time, you will start to see that the sugar has completely dissolved.
At four weeks, sterilize some pretty pint sized jars (or any vintage jars, glass bottles, etc) as long as you have proper lids for them
Using several layers of cheesecloth or a jelly bag; carefully start to strain off your concoction into a clean glass juice pitcher or an old glass milk jug, etc. (I prefer to always use glass vs. plastics).
You will need to change the cheesecloth or clean out your jelly bag a few times; you are trying to capture as much of the liquid as possible.
When the concoction is completely strained off; fill your jars/bottles and cap off. It's probably best if you keep them in the bottom shelf of your refrigerator. (*keeps for one year)
Make some special labels to explain your homemade gift and enjoy sharing this treat around the holidays.
*RESULTS*
If you managed to ignore the urge to stir or shake it and have faithfully turned it upside down daily, it should look like this at about three weeks later:
Continue turning until all sugar has dissolved, then it will be time to strain it off and put it in some pretty little jelly jars.
Come gift giving time or special dinner celebrations, you will have a sweet treat for everyone.
This was mine at Christmas time, setting out in front of Christmas tree lights...so pretty and very tasty!
Enjoy!