Black Forest Preserves - cooking recipe

Ingredients

6 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
3 cups firmly packed coarsely chopped pitted sweet black cherries
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 (3 ounce) packages liquid pectin
4 tablespoons amaretto liqueur or 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Preparation

Prepare canner, jars, and lids.
In a bowl, combine sugar and cocoa. Stir well.
In a large stainless steel saucepan, combine cherries and lemon juice. Stir in cocoa mixture. Over high heat, stirring constantly, bring to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down.
Stir in pectin. Boil hard, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Stir in Amaretto. Remove from heat and skim off foam.
Ladle hot preserves into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and add hot preserves if needed. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Screw band tight.
Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil, then process for 10 minutes. Remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars.