Are you sick of me posting about cherries yet? I figured it has been long enough since the last cherry cocktail that I could revisit one of my favorite fruits.

When we make a liqueur or infusion, we occasionally get questions about what to do with the “boozed” substance that is left behind after making an infusion. Jim from 2012 Will Be Delicious! said that he made the Oatmeal and Brown Sugar Booze and later ate the oats as a “hangover cure” breakfast. Sounds interesting!

I hate to admit to waste, but I nearly always toss out the ingredient after it has infused the alcohol. Usually the ingredient has become overwhelmingly boozy, with almost no flavor left behind. I often save vanilla beans from infusions, and we have scraped what was left in the pod to use in something else. I have a bag of cinnamon/vanilla/bourbon soaked apples in my freezer with the intent of using them in a boozy pie… but I don’t know if that will ever happen. We did use some bourbon soaked figs in a baked English Toffee Pudding (in place of chopped dates).

With the Cherry Bourbon, someone asked what I was going to do with the dried cherries after I filtered all of the bourbon out. Well, we candied them and covered them in chocolate!

Step 1: Candied Cherries

1 1/2 c. Bourbon soaked Cherries (from the Cherry Bourbon)

1/2 c. sugar

1/4 c. Cherry Juice (the one we used was called “Just Black Cherry”)

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer, stirring often. Simmer on low until almost all of the liquid is gone (ours took about 20 min.).

Spread them out on parchment paper or a silicone pan liner. I spread them out individually so they wouldn’t clump together. Alternatively, you could press them into a layer in a baking dish and cut into squares or use in a cookie bar, etc. These are super sticky and chewy, but very tasty.

Allow to cool. We kept them on wax paper, and placed them in the refrigerator until we were ready to use. (And by ready to use, I mean ready to coat with chocolate!)

Step 2: Cover with Chocolate

I followed the recipe from Oh She Glows for 3 Ingredient Chocolate Covered Raisins, substituting the Candied Cherries.

1 1/2 c. Candied Cherries

1/4 c. Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips

1/2 TB Coconut Oil

Place chocolate and coconut oil in a microwave safe dish. Microwave on high for approximately 1 minute. Stir to incorporate all the chocolate, ensuring all the chips are melted. Mix in the cherries, about 1/4 cup at a time. Spread out onto parchment paper or wax paper, and place in freezer to harden. Once the chocolate has dried, remove from freezer and break up the fruit. Delicious!

Have any of you saved the “boozed” ingredients from your infusions? What have you made with them?