This post is sponsored by Ace Hardware. All opinions are 1 million% my own and I’m happy to be working with a company I believe in.
While it’s still hot here, I know that fall is right around the corner. My favorite time of year! To get ready for the changing season, I tried my hat at something new — canning. This caramel apple jelly was amazing and so simple to make.
The truth is that I have pretty much shied away from canning because I didn’t know much about it. It seemed like a whole lot of work and intimidated me. But I like a challenge and I love homemade jam and jelly so I knew that it’d be worth learning something new. I have seen more and more people talk about canning – how to preserve fruits and vegetables, the savings involved, etc. With a fun new kitchen gadget — a Ball® 21 Quart Electric Canner — I was excited to take on the challenge. My local Ace Hardware has the electric canner and all kinds of canning supplies. In addition to all the home improvement and maintenance products you could ever want, they also have a canning section too. Plus they are super duper helpful. So if I’m feeling nervous about a project (ahem… like canning!), they are ready and willing to help. They have some canning tips too.
Before I got my ingredients out, I needed to get my electric canner ready to go. I followed the instructions in the manual exactly. First I had to give my Ball jars a sudsy bath. And then I rinsed them off.
I added them one by one to the electric canner and turned it on for 10 minutes to prep the jars.
While the jars were getting prepped, I gathered my ingredients and got to work. For the recipe I used, I needed – apples, brown and white sugar, butter, pectin, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Caramel Apple Jelly
Ingredients
- 6 c apples diced and peeled
- ½ c water
- ½ tsp butter
- 1.75 oz powdered fruit pectin
- 3 c sugar
- 2 c packed brown sugar
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
Instructions
- In a dutch oven (a pot could be used as well), combine the apples, water and butter.
- Cook and stir over low heat until apples are tender.
- Stir in pectin and bring to a rolling boil, stirring constantly.
- Add the sugars, cinnamon and nutmeg.
- Return to boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Remove from heat and skim off foam if necessary.
- Carefully ladle hot mix into hot pint jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace.
- Remove air bubbles, wipe rims and adjust lids.
- Process for 10 minutes in a boiling water canner.
Nutrition
I have an old Pampered Chef apple, peeler corer that I used for the apples. It makes it so much faster but if you don’t have one, you can use a peeler and cut the apples into chunks as it says on the directions. I used Gala apples but all different types of apples could be used for this. Keep in mind that different types of apples produce different flavors.
After I cooked my jelly on the stove, I took each jar out, one by one and filled it up to 1/4″ from the rim. I wiped off the excess with a washcloth and then screwed the lid back on. I then popped them all into the electric canner and turned the dial to “canning” for 10 minutes. I followed the directions to take off the lid, drain the water and then let the jars sit for 12 hours on a flat surface.
The hardest part was letting it sit for 12 hours and not digging in right away. But it was worth the wait. This jelly is perfect for summer to fall —->
One of my favorite breakfasts is toast with butter and jam. This definitely hits the spot! Yummmmmmm.
I even made some cute labels to stick on the lids. It would make a great gift heading into the new school year or for the fall.
You can download your Caramel Apple Jelly labels. For personal use only.
I used Avery Print-to-the-Edge Round Labels 22818. But you could use a full sticker sheet and punch the label out.
I’d say that trying something new was definitely worth the effort. It was a win! My 10 year old said it’s the best jelly he’s ever had. Yay!
To encourage you to try out something new, Ace is offering a $150 Gift Card Giveaway. Simply fill out the information below:
I’m confused. The photos show pineapple and I can see pineapple in the jars but it isn’t in the recipe. I’m very interested in making this jam but want to do it right.
Hi Rolanda,
That’s actually an apple cut up. ;) I can see how you’d think it was pineapple. I used my apple peeler-corer from Pampered Chef and it look like that. You could just peel the apples with a regular peeler and cut them into chunks. Hope that helps!