Cranberry-Pepper Jelly

When I first started doing research on canning, I bought the book Canning and Preserving for Dummies. It not only teaches you about canning but also freezing and drying, and it has over 100 recipes included in the book. This is where I found "Cranberry-Pepper Jelly" recipe.

Now that I'm getting my own Jalapeno peppers out of the garden this is the next jelly project.

"Cranberry-Pepper Jelly"

• 2 - 4 jalapeno chillies, halved and seeded
• 1 1/2 cups bottled cranberry juice
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 5 cups granulated sugar
• 3-ounce pouch liquid fruit pectin

Makes 5 half-pint jars.

Prepare your canning jars and two-piece caps (lids and screw bands). Keep the jars and lids hot.

Have your canner on another burner and get your water boiling.

Combine the jalapenos, cranberry juice and vinegar in a saucepan. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Pour through strainer to remove the peppers. Return 2 cups liquid to saucepan add sugar. Turn the heat to high and bring to rolling boil, one that can't be stirred down. Add pectin and return to rolling boil. Boil for 1 full minute.

Ladle hot jelly into your hot jars, filling to 1/4 inch from the top. Wipe the rims clean and apply the lids, just hand tighten. Place the jars into canner with 1-2 inches of water covering the jars and process for 10 minutes. When finished move to a dishtowel to cool. DO NOT retighten the screw bands, just let the jars cool for 12 - 24 hrs. It may take a few days to thicken or it will thicken up some more in the refrigerator. After they are completely cool check the lids to be sure they have sealed, if the cap top pulls loose its still safe to eat just place in the refrigerator and use within 2 months.

Vary It: Try using cranberry-apple, cranberry-grape or one of the other cranberry juice mixtures.

Note: I doubled the recipe and left the seeds in the peppers when I boiled them up to increase the heat of the jelly, also I stirred in 5 drops of red food coloring just before pouring it into the jars and I ended up with 10 jelly jars of this...

Beautiful!

** I had a request to post another jalapeno recipe for pickles (this isn't my recipe but one I got from Charles Dad so I hope I've got it right).

"Jalapeno Pepper Pickles"

• 1 gallon jar of dill pickles
• 1 jar of jalapenos
• 5 - 6 cups sugar

Drain dill pickle juice into a bowl and save to the side. Pour in the whole jar of jalapenos along with the juice, add sugar, top off the liquid in the jar with the saved pickle juice. Discard the rest of the juice or save for other recipes. Carefully stir the pickles in the jar to dissolve the sugar, place in refrigerator to let set. As you eat the dill pickles out of the jar you can buy smaller jars to refill your jar.

This can be made in smaller quantities if you are unable to find a gallon jar of dill pickles. I made mine with a half gallon and reduced the amount of sugar to 3 cups. You can change up this recipe to suit your tastes by using more or less jalapeno peppers or sugar. Enjoy.