Christmas Jam

It may sound a little early to make Christmas Jam but with fresh cherries from my tree I got jamming.      This  jam has some of my favorite  flavors of Christmas - cinnamon, cloves, citrus.  In addition to cherries, this jam has raspberries and pineapple.  Great flavor combinations that makes delicious jam.

This jam is very easy to make.  The time consuming part is pitting and chopping the cherries.    No need to worry if you have cooked the jam enough  - liquid fruit pectin is used.    

The jam tastes delicious.  What I like to do is give a jar of jam with some homemade scones in a Christmas Basket for my neighbors at Christmas time.  But feel free to enjoy this jam anytime. 

Christmas Jam

From Taste of Home

Ingredients

2.5 pound fresh cherries, pitted and chopped

2 cans (8 ounces each) unsweetened crushed pineapple, drained

1 package (12 ounces) frozen unsweetened raspberries, thawed

9 cups sugar

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup orange juice

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon butter

2 pouches (3 ounces each) liquid fruit pectin

Directions

1. In a Dutch oven, combine cherries, pineapple and raspberries. Stir in the sugar, juices, cinnamon, cloves and butter. Bring to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in pectin. Continue to boil 1 minute, stirring constantly.

2. Remove from heat; skim off foam. Ladle hot mixture into 12 hot sterilized half-pint jars, leaving 1/4-in. headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot mixture. Wipe rims. Center lids on jars; screw on bands until fingertip tight.

3. Place jars into canner with simmering water, ensuring that they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil; process for 5 minutes. Remove jars and cool.

Makes 12 half-pint jars

Christmas: Thumbprint Cookies

Thumbprint cookies are one of my favorite Christmas cookies.  The delicate buttery cookie  dipped in chopped nuts with a touch of jam in the center is truly delicious.  They are also a great cookie to have the kids help with.  My kids love making the thumbprint and dropping the jam in the center.

This recipe from Simply Recipes is one of the best recipes I have found for Thumbprint cookies.  They were a hit with family and friends.  I made half with nuts and half without.  They were both delicious.

Thumbprint Cookies
From Simply Recipes

INGREDIENts:

1 cup of butter (2 sticks or 8 ounces), room temperature
1/2 cup of sugar
2 eggs, room temperature - separated
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
2 cups of flour
1 cup of chopped nuts (optional)
3/4 cup of your favorite jam
Parchment paper

Directions:

1 Cream the butter and sugar.  In a medium bowl whisk together the flour and salt.  Set aside.

2 Add the yolks and vanilla extract to the butter mixture. 

3 Add the flour and salt. Mix until just combined. Chill dough in the fridge for 30 minutes and preheat the oven to 350F.  While dough is chilling whisk the egg whites until frothy.  If you are not using nuts, save the egg whites for a later use.

4 Roll the dough into balls about 1 inch in diameter. If using nuts, dip the balls into the egg whites then roll them into the nuts until covered. Place the balls on parchment lined cookie sheets or on cookie sheets with silicon baking sheets.

5 Press down with your thumb to make a small well in the center of the cookie.  Caution: Do not press too hard or the cookie will fall apart. Fill with 1/2 teaspoon of jam.

6 Bake for 12-15 minutes or until slightly firm rotating halfway thru baking. Allow to cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet to firm up before moving them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Makes 2 dozen

Strawberry Balsamic Rosemary Jam

Summertime is the time to make great jams, jellies, and preserves to enjoy the summer harvest year round.  I love making different jams that use ingredients that compliment and bring out the flavors of the various fruits. This jam has a wonderfully rich strawberry flavor with just a hint of rosemary and pepper.  The balsamic vinegar does wonders for enhancing the flavor of the strawberries.


In this recipe, I combine strawberries with balsamic vinegar, rosemary, and a dash of black pepper.  The result is truly amazing and delicious.  I used about three pounds of fresh strawberries, sugar, balsamic vinegar, rosemary and black pepper.  I cooked the mixture until the jam passed the cold plate test.  Plates are put in the freezer and as the jam starts to thicken, a small amount is placed on the plate.  I put the plate back in the freezer for about 2 minutes and ran my finger down the center of the jam.  If the jam stayed separated, it was done.  Important note:  When doing this test be sure you remove the jam from the heat. Here is an additional link from the kitchn to make sure your jam sets.   It describes 7 different tests for jam doneness.

Once the jam is set, I ladled the jam into sterilized pint jars.  You will need 5 for this recipe.  I then wiped the rim of the jars, sealed and put the ring on the jars.  I then processed the jam in a water bath for 10 minutes. 

Once the water bath was done, I removed the jars and let them cool.  The jam was ready to enjoy. 

Strawberry Balsamic Rosemary Jam
Ingredients:
3 pound fresh strawberries, hulled and coarsely chopped
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
Directions:
1. Place all of the ingredients in a large bowl.  Stir and mix well.  Let the berries sit until the strawberries release some juice.  Place 2 plates in the freezer.

2. Place the strawberries in a large non-reactive skillet.  On medium high heat, bring the mixture to a boil stirring often.

3. Reduce heat and boil strawberries until mixture thickens - about 30 minutes. Conduct a jam doneness test.   Remember to remove the jam from the heat.   Remove a plate from freezer and drop some jam on the plate.  Return the plate to the freezer for 2 minutes.  Remove the plate and run your finger down the center of the jam.  If the jam separates and doesn't run together  immediately, the jam is done.   Repeat test if necessary.

4. Ladle the jam into pint -size sterilized jar.  Wipe the rim with a clean damp cloth.  Seal and put the rings on the jars.
5. Process the jam in a water bath for 10 minutes.  Remove the jars from the bath and let them cool.

Makes 5 pints





   

Cherry Thyme Jam

I finally got done picking the cherries from our tree.  This years crop was huge.  It has been our largest to date. We ate alot of them and gave some to friends.  I dried some for baking, snacking and cooking.  I got 2 full quart sized bags of dried cherries:)   Cherry jam was the latest cooking adventure.

I decided to pair the cherries with a little thyme from the garden.  I heard that herbs can added a subtle delicious flavor to jam.  So I decided to give it a try.   I began by stemming and pitting 4 pounds of cherries.  Buy a cherry pitter if you do not have one.  I left about 1 pound of the cherries whole and coarsely chopped the remaining ones.  I put them in a large pot and threw in some thyme, honey, sugar, and lemon juice.

 Give everything a stir and set the pot on the stove.  Cook and bring the mixture to a boil. As the jam is cooking, place two small plates in the freezer.   Cook until the jam registers 220 degrees F on a candy thermometer.  Be sure to stir the jam as it cooks and skim off any foam that forms. 

 Remove one of the plates from the freezer.  Spoon a small amount of the jam on the plate and put the plate back in the freezer for about a minute. 

The jam is done when the jam wrinkles as you push it forward.  

 When the jam is done ladle it into sterilized jam jars.  I used the 8 ounce size.  Place the jam in a water bath and process for 10 minutes.  Remove the jars from the bath and set them on the counter to cool.  You will hear popping sounds of the lids as your jam is sealed.  You can keep the jam for a year.

This jam probably will not last for a year.  It is one of the best jams I have ever tasted.  It has a deep rich cherry flavor with an underlying light thyme flavor.  Delicious:)

Cherry Thyme Jam
 
Ingredients:
4  pounds red cherries, stemmed and pitted
2 cups honey
6 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh minced thyme leaves

Directions:
1. Place 2 saucers in the freezer.
2. Chop 3 pounds of the cherries coarsely.  Leave the remaining pound whole.   Place the cherries in a medium stockpot.
3. Add the remaining ingredients to the stockpot and stir well.
4. Place the pot on the stove over medium to medium-high  heat and bring to a boil.  Cook, stirring frequently until the jam registers 220 degrees F on a candy thermometer.  This will take about 30-40 minutes. Remove any foam that floats to the surface.
5. Remove one of the plates from the freezer and drop a spoonful of jam on it.  Place the plate back in the freezer for a minute.
6. Remove the plate and nudge the edge of the jam with your finger.  If the jams wrinkles slightly when nudged it is done.  If the jam does not wrinkle cook another 2 to 3 minutes and test again.
7. Remove jam from the stove.  Ladle the jam into sterilized jam jars.  Fill the jars within a 1/4-inch from the top.  Wipe off the rim.
8. Place a canning lid that has been sterilized in boiling water on the jar.  Screw on a band and tighten firmly.
9. Using canning tongs, place the jars in a water bath.  Raise the heat to high, cover and bring to a boil.  Process the jam for 10 minutes.
10. Using tongs transfer the jars out of the water bath to the counter to cool.  The jam will keep up to 1 year.

Makes 5 (8-ounce) jars

Note:  Refer to the Web or a Canning book to get more detailed information on a water bath, if desired.