Apple Jalapeño Jam for #HandCraftedEdibles

In an effort to make all of my holiday gifts this year, I invited some of my favorite foodie bloggers to share recipes for hand-crafted edibles. Over the course of the twelve weeks, we'll be sharing recipes that you can make at home to give to friends and loved ones. We hope you'll follow along for inspiration. You can find out more information, including the schedule: here.

Thanks to these inspiring gals for these jam and jelly treats:

• Amy at Amy's Cooking Adventures shared Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie Jam
• Sarah of Fantastical Sharing of Recipes made Tomato Bacon Jam
• Nichole, the Cookaholic Wife, posted her Honey Lemon Apple Jam
• Lauren at Sew You Think You Can Cook cooked up Concord Grape Jelly
• Terri of Christmas Tree Lane created Blueberry Lavender Butter
• Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm made Jalapeno Jelly
• Camilla, Culinary Adventures with Camilla, shared a spicy jar of Apple Jalapeño Jam

Next week, check back for our recipes for pickles. Or check out our #handcraftededibles pinterest board.

I had received some jalapeño peppers from my friends' garden. But I wasn't sure I was ready for straight jalapeño jelly. So I decided to make a sweet and spicy jam with apples. Think of it as an apple butter with a kick. We used a dollop of this on a cracker with some brie. Yummy! Because I wasn't quite certain I'd like the recipe, I made a very small batch. I will double these proportions next time.

 Ingredients

• 1 pound apples
• 2 jalapeños, diced (deseed if you want a more mild jam)
• 1/2 C water
• 1/2 C apple cider vinegar
• 1  C organic granulated sugar
• 1/2 t ground cinnamon
• 1/4 t ground nutmeg
• 1/4 t ground cardamom
• 1/4 t salt

Procedure

Sterilize 2 half-pint jars and their lids.

Place the water, vinegar, sugar, spices, and salt in a large, flat-bottom pan. Bring the mixture to a simmer until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add in the apples and jalapeño peppers. Turn the heat down to low and cook, uncovered, until the apples are soft and mashable. If it gets too dry, add in water 1 T at a time.

Mash the apples against the sides of the pan until your preferred texture. I like some chunks left in my jam. Also, the liquid should be thick and leave a trail if you run a spatula through the middle.

Pour jam into hot, sterile jars leaving a 1/2" from the rim. Cover with lid and rings. Allow to cool and then refrigerate. It will last about a month in the refrigerator. Or you can process it in a water batch for 10 minutes.