Blackberry Syrup

We just returned from a trip to the Northwest where the blackberries are ripe. They grow everywhere and drop onto the ground like rain. Our first day, we walked across the street to the blackberry patch in the empty lot and filled up our bowls.

I remember so well the nights at my grandparents' house in Southern California. As a little girl, my brother, cousins and I would go outside and pick blackberries by the light of the street lamps, the pavement still warm beneath our feet, and we'd bring them into the kitchen where Grandpa tossed them with a little sugar and put them on ice cream for us.

These blackberries we ate on ice cream, too, and then with pancakes the next morning.

Blackberry Syrup
makes about 1 1/2 cups

24 oz blackberries (or as many as you can pick)
1/4 cup sugar (or more if you want a heavier syrup)
A splash of water
A pour of berry liqueur

Heat the ingredients in a sauce pan over medium heat until the berries have softened, 10-20 minutes.
Strain the berries through a fine mesh strainer or cheese cloth to remove the seeds and pulp. Pour the liquid into a saute pan.
Boil until thickened slightly, 5-10 minutes.

Keeps in the refrigerator for several weeks.

I imagine you could jar this and process in a water bath to keep until spring, but I am not familiar with canning syrups and so I will not advise. I hope next year I will put away a few pints. Do you make your own syrup? Have you had success using only a small amount of sugar?