Combine two of summer’s favorites, sweet cherries and blueberries, for a delectably easy fruit butter.

It’s the annual Everything Cherries Week here at Seed to Pantry as we celebrate fresh, sweet cherries and my “appointment” as a Washington State Fruit Commission Canbassador.

What is a Canbassador?

As a Canbassador my job is to make all kinds of wonderful preserved cherry items and then write about them. Fresh stone fruit is one of the very best things about living here in the mid-Columbia, but luckily our sweet, juicy cherries are shipped all over the country – so you can get some too!

Sweet Cherry Recipes

You can find out lots more about our wonderful Washington stone fruits over at the NWCherries.com site. There are instructions for canning and freezing fruit, and several mouth-watering cherry recipes.

So far this week I have been busy pitting and freezing cherries to enjoy this winter, candying a new batch for Christmas fruitcake, drying some for snacks, and preparing a new batch of  Cherry Mostarda. I will make some of my very favorite Spirited Apricot-Cherry Butter later, but just finished a batch of deep amethyst Cherry Berry Butter.

Fruit Butter Notes

• Since fruit butters are “cooked-down” instead of “set-up,” they don’t require as much sugar as most soft spreads.
• Add half as much sugar as puree. For example, if you have 8 cups of puree, add 4 cups of sugar.
• Fruit butter is a good choice when you are faced with a box of over-ripe fruit that has to be dealt with NOW.
• Fruit butters can be cooked in large batches, limited only by pot size and how long we want to stir the puree-sugar combination.

Cherry Berry Butter

Combine two of summer’s favorites,
sweet cherries and blueberries, for a delectably easy fruit butter.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Servings 6 half-pint jars

Ingredients

  

• 3 pounds fresh
  cherries
  
  
  
  pitted
  and rinsed
  
  
  
  
• 1 1/2 pounds fresh
  blueberries
  
  
  
  washed
• 3 cups granulated sugar

Instructions

 

• 
  
  

  Place cherries and blueberries in a large pot and cook
  over low heat until soft, adding small amounts of water if necessary, to
  prevent scorching.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• 
  
  

  Let fruit cool.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• 
  
  

  Puree fruit in a blender or food processor or using an
  immersion blender.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• 
  
  

  Measure puree.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• 
  
  

  Return puree to pot – you should have about 6 cups of
  puree. Add sugar.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• 
  
  

  Cook over medium-low heat, stirring often until
  mixture has thickened.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• 
  
  

  Ladle into hot, clean jars leaving about ¼ inch head
  space. Top with the two-piece lids and rings, and process in a water bath for
  10 minutes.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Full disclosure: This recipe was made with cherries I received from Northwest Cherry Growers.