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    Home » Jams, Pickles, and Preserves

    Sweet Cherry Butter

    Jul 21, 2011 · Modified: Jun 23, 2020 by Andrea · This post may contain affiliate links · This blog generates income via ads ·

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Bowl of cherries - Andrea Meyers

    “Cherries!”

    That’s the shout I hear when the boys find cherries on the counter and eagerly pop them in their mouths and pull off the stems. They can’t resist the deep red fruits, and neither can I. Seeing their happy smiles with cherry juice all over their hands and faces is one of my favorite moments.

    When I use fresh cherries in a recipe, I grab my handy Oxo Good Grips Cherry Pitter (not sponsored), which pops the seeds right out with minimal mess. It’s such a unitasker, I know, but it does the job very well and saves me loads of time when processing several bags of cherries. This makes the job so easy I would even turn it over to Builder Guy and Top Gun if I thought they’d actually leave some cherries for the rest of us.

    Pitting cherries - Andrea Meyers

    Though we mostly eat cherries out of hand, we also add them to ice cream and make pies and cobblers and this cherry butter. Like the other fruit butters I make, the thickness comes from cooking down the fruit, not added pectin. I add a little bit of vanilla extract which gives the butter a wonderful richness of flavor.

    Sweet Cherry Butter - Andrea Meyers

    Sweet Cherry Butter - Andrea Meyers
    Print Pin

    Sweet Cherry Butter

    Makes about 12 ounces.
    Prep Time15 mins
    Cook Time35 mins
    Course: Condiment
    Cuisine: American
    Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
    Keyword: cherries
    Servings: 12
    Calories: 57kcal

    Equipment

    • 3-quart saucepan
    • potato masher
    • immersion blender or jar blender
    • 2 (8-ounce) freezer jars with lids

    Ingredients

    • 1 pound fresh sweet cherries (stemmed and pitted)
    • ½ teaspoon lemon juice
    • ½ cup granulated sugar
    • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    US Customary - Metric

    Preparation

    • Pour the pitted cherries into the sauce pan and add the lemon juice. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer about 5 minutes. The cherries should be very soft and mashable.
    • Mash the cherries with the potato masher to break the skins, then blend with the immersion blender until the mixture is smooth. (Or blend the cherries in a blender until very smooth.)
    • Return the pureed cherries to the sauce pan and add the sugar and cinnamon. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered until the mixture is thick, about 25 minutes, stirring frequently.
    • Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
    • Cool completely and divide between the two freezer jars. Store jars in the refrigerator or freezer. Will keep for up to 3 weeks in the refrigerator and 3 to 4 months in the freezer.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 57kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1mg | Potassium: 84mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 24IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 5mg | Iron: 1mg
    Tried this recipe?Share in the comments!

    More Homemade Fruit Butters

    Blueberry Butter - Andrea Meyers
    Blueberry Butter
    Slow Cooker Apple Butter - Andrea Meyers
    Slow Cooker Apple Butter
    Spiced Peach Butter - Andrea Meyers
    Spiced Peach Butter

    More Recipes with Cherries From Around the Blogs

    • Lottie + Doof – Sour Cream, Cherry, Tequila Ice Pops
    • Dianasaur Dishes – Cherry Limeade
    • Eat the Love – Bing Cherry Goat Cheese Tart with Black Pepper
    « Blueberry Butter
    Spiced Peach Butter »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. SharleneT. says

      July 21, 2011 at 10:20 pm

      Hadn't thought of cherry butter and, now, can't imagine why not? Thanks for the recipe. Come visit when you can...

    2. Kristine says

      July 25, 2011 at 3:26 am

      Sweet! Always looking for a way to use my favorite fruit, fresh cherries! And I gotta get me one of those pitters- thanks again!!

    3. Kelly Brewer says

      July 29, 2011 at 7:33 pm

      I love the look of this recipe. I am wondering if there is some reason you recommend freezing instead of canning. Is it safe to can this yumminess?

      Thanks,
      Kelly with the small freezer

      • Andrea says

        July 29, 2011 at 8:30 pm

        Yes, you can use a hot water bath to can it, though at just two jars it is a small batch and might not be necessary. If you want to process it, I recommend the directions from the National Center for Home Food Preservation. Let us know how it turns out!

    4. Amanda KP says

      July 31, 2011 at 10:27 pm

      did you have any problems with foam when you used the immersion blender? if so, how did you get rid of it? does it go away once you cook it down?

      • Andrea says

        August 01, 2011 at 8:04 am

        Hi Amanda. I actually didn't get any foaming with the immersion blender. If you get foam, just skim it off with a spoon.

        • Teri Bauman says

          August 05, 2016 at 8:08 pm

          I had a bit of foam but it cooked out☺

    5. Frederique says

      August 23, 2011 at 8:24 am

      I have a huge bag of pitted frozen cherries... would that work as well?

      • Andrea says

        August 23, 2011 at 12:51 pm

        Hi Frederique. Yes, you can absolutely use pitted frozen cherries. I've used them in the cherry butter, and it works well, just let them thaw in the bag or in a bowl and pour all the juices in with the cherries when you get ready to cook.

    6. Samantha C says

      September 15, 2014 at 11:39 pm

      I decided, since this was a small recipe, to try many different ways for this. So far my favorite is partially mashing them, throwing the ingredients in a crock pot with a stick of cinnamon, then letting it cook until thick. It has tiny little pieces of cherry in it, but not so much that its "chunky"

    Trackbacks

    1. Don’t Forget the (Fruit) Butter — Savvy Eats says:
      August 1, 2011 at 1:05 pm

      [...] Cherry Butter from Andrea Meyers [...]

    2. i made that: cherry butter! « Vegtastic Voyage says:
      July 19, 2012 at 11:25 am

      [...] used this recipe from Andrea Meyers, because it was built for just a couple pounds of cherries and didn’t have a ton of sugar. I [...]

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