How to Make Spiced Cherry Butter

Marie Overton
Sep 11, 2021
2 min read

Updated: Jul 17

Washington State has many varieties of fruit and they all grow prolifically. Cherries are one of the fruits that grow so well here. My favorite method of using the leftover pulp from making juice is to make fruit butter. One of my favorite flavors of fruit butter is spiced cherry butter. Making fruit butter is such a great way not to waste any part of the fruit when juicing. Fruit butter tends to be smoother with more spices and less sugar than jam.

Three jars of dark cherry jam sit on a white cloth, surrounded by fresh cherries. The scene is cozy and inviting.

Preparation

Start by preparing your boiling water bath with enough water to cover 7 half pint-sized jars with 1-2 inches of water. Place the boiling water bath canner on the stove on medium heat. Now that your equipment is ready, it is time to start making spiced cherry butter.

Making the Spiced Cherry Butter

Wash, de-stem, and pit the cherries and cook them down to pulp or use the pulp leftover from juicing cherries.

Person in apron using a teal scoop to add items to a blender, next to a large metal pot on a countertop. Kitchen setting.

Blend 6 cups of cherry pulp so it is nice and smooth.

Person in orange shirt pours sugar from bowl into pot on granite countertop, wearing beige apron with a name. Kitchen sink in background.

In a large pot, mix the cherries with 3 cups of sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.

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Cook until thick.

A person wearing a beige apron pours dark liquid from a glass pitcher into a spoon over a large pot in a kitchen with a metal faucet.

Add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice.

Mix in 1 teaspoon of vanilla.

Person making jam at a kitchen counter. Large pot, red mixture, jars being filled. Granite countertop, stainless steel and glass jars.

Using a jar funnel, pour or ladle the butter into clean, hot, half pint jars leaving ¼ inch headspace. Place the lids and rings on until they are finger tip tight.

(For quality, American made Superb canning lids and jars follow this link and use the coupon code WP20 to get 20% off your purchase.)

Process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath canner at sea level or adjust for your elevation.

After processing, allow to cool in the water bath with the heat off and the lid removed for 5 minutes.

Seven jars of dark jam on a woven mat, placed on a kitchen counter. A person in an apron stands near a stove in the background.

Remove jars from the canner and let them cool on a heat resistant surface about 1-2 inches apart so they can cool a little faster. Allow them to sit undisturbed for 24 hours so that they can get a nice seal. you know they are sealed if the little "button" in the center of the lid is depressed down.