Cherry Compôte (Cherry Sauce)

Compôte (meaning mixture in French) is a dessert originating from medieval Europe, made of whole or pieces of fruit in sugar syrup. There are only three ingredients in this cherry compôte recipe (and one of them is booze). This quick and easy recipe takes almost no time to cook and is the perfect topping to spread over ice cream, cheesecake, oatmeal, toast, pancakes, etc... It's a great way to preserve those sweet summer cherries for another day.

4½ cups fresh Bing cherries (about 20 oz), pitted
1 cup brandy, Cointreau or orange juice
½ cup sugar

Bring all ingredients to a boil in a large heavy saucepan; reduce heat to medium-low.

Simmer until cherries are softened and start to release their juices, about 10 minutes.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer cherries to a medium heatproof bowl.

Simmer juices until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 15-20 minutes. Pour reduced syrup over cherries. Serve warm.

Makes 2 cups.