Fresh Strawberry Jam

This is one of my favorite things, and I've been wanting to make some for a while, so when I saw how beautiful the California strawberries were at Sam's today, I couldn't resist them.  I got six 32 oz. containers of them, which is enough to make 3 batches of eight 8 oz. jars.

After reviewing many recipes, I ended up slightly altering one from Ree Drummond.

I highly recommend that if you have never water bath canned before, you go to
http://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/publications_usda.html  and read Guide 1, The Principles of Home Canning and also Guide 7, Preparing and Canning Jams and Jellies.  These are the USDA National Center for Home Food Preservation recommendations for safety in home canning and they provide all the information you really need to can safely at home, however, be aware that the manufacturers of canning products, such as Ball and Kerr jars, lids, and bands, would be the absolute best place to review the most current requirements for safe canning using their products.  Over years, materials used to make the sealant on lids, for example, has changed, and along with that came changes in how you can use them.  Never presume a recipe posted somewhere online is safe. Use recipes from reliable sources. There are many, many posted recipes out there with incorrect methods included in the directions and also some that are not safe due to the ingredients, which may not be acidic enough for safe water bath canning.  If you know up front what the correct methods are before you begin, you can proceed with confidence.  Water bath canning is for food products that are acidic to a pH of at least 4.6. or lower.  Even then, many recipes will include adding vinegar or lemon juice to increase acidity.  It's important to follow the recipe and not omit these acidic ingredients.  Processing for longer than the recommended time is not something you should do.  In some cases, it can actually alter the pH of the food product.  The pH of fresh strawberries is 3.00 to 3.90, making them completely safe to water bath can, and lemon juice is 2.00 to 2.60.  Sugar is neutral and does not affect the pH.

Here's what you need to make 8 jars of delicious strawberry jam:

5 cups  hulled mashed fresh strawberries  (2  32 oz. containers - you will have some left over, so as you mash or process the strawberries in batches, pour into a measuring container so you can stop when you get to 5 cups.  Use the leftover whole strawberries for something else.

7 cups sugar

4 tablespoons lemon juice

1  4.9 oz. package powdered fruit pectin

Directions:

Find the freshest strawberries you can!

Wash and remove the tops from the strawberries.  I put mine in the food processor and processed them by pulsing until they were to the consistency I prefer.  I didn't want big chunks of fruit in my jam, but you can either mash them or process them to whatever level of "fruit chunkiness" you want! The food processor went quickly and I think it saved me some time.

I used one of my mixing bowls with measurements to pour the strawberries in as I processed them.  This is 5 cups.

"Processing" is defined as the entire length of time the filled jars are at a full, strong boil.

Before you start the cooking process with the strawberries, place eight clean 8 oz. mason jars into a large hot water bath canner. Be sure you have checked the jars for cracks or flaws at the rim that may prevent a proper seal. Don't use a jar if either of those things are present.   Cover the jars with water by one to two inches (minimum of 1 inch), and simply get the jars hot, bringing them to a good simmer so they won't break when you put the hot jam in them before processing.  Processing times vary depending on the altitude you're at, so be aware and adjust your processing times accordingly.  Because the jam will be processed for a full 10 minutes at the altitude I live at, it isn't necessary to sterilize the jars - they will process long enough to kill all bacteria in the jam and on the lids and jars., but if it makes you feel better about safety, you can go ahead and sterilize them if you so choose. To do that, boil the jars for 10 minutes prior to filling them with jam. 

Old guidelines suggest to place new, never used lids into a small pot of water and bring to a simmer - do not allow them to boil.  Once they simmer, lower the heat to the lowest setting just to keep them hot, to prepare them for use in canning.  This is no longer necessary if you are using Ball or Kerr products.  Manufacturing materials for the sealants on lids changed years ago, eliminating the need for this.  But again, if it makes you feel better, go ahead, it won't hurt, but never boil the lids.  Please see my January 2018 post on Current Guidelines for Canning Lids for details as to where this up-to-date information comes from if you question it.

Now it's time to get those strawberries cooking!

Place all the strawberries and all 4 tablespoons of lemon juice into a large pot.  Stir to mix, then stir the pectin in until dissolved.  Bring to a strong boil, stirring frequently. I actually stirred mine constantly just to make sure it didn't stick to the bottom or burn, but I have no idea if that's actually necessary.  Don't panic about the foam, that's normal!  Once you have a good strong boil, add all of the sugar, stirring as you pour it in.  It sounds like lots of sugar, but don't use less, the sugar, along with the pectin, is an important part of what helps the jam gel.  (There are recipes for low sugar jams you can use if you don't like the idea of this much sugar, and there is also a Sure Jell pectin product especially made for lower sugar jams).  Stir to mix well, then continue to stir until you have a full rolling (violent) boil that won't stir down.  Then continue to stir and boil for an additional full 1 minute and 30 seconds, using a timer, or, if you are not confident about being able to establish if it will gel properly or not, use a thermometer and boil until it reaches 218 to 220 degrees.  Note:  You can boil the jam for a shorter length of time if you want a fruit sauce instead of a jam.  It's great for pouring over ice cream, other desserts, and I use it to swirl into things like muffin batter or my cheesecake batters, and even use it to spread on top of my cheesecakes sometimes.  I can tell by how it coats the spoon I'm stirring it with whether it's at a good "sauce" stage, but I learned that method by way of  a trial and error phase, so I won't make any recommendations!

Next, turn off the heat and quickly skim as much of the foam off the top as possible, and you are ready now to begin filling the jars.  It helps to have all your equipment ready to go before you start.  You will need regular tongs, a jar lifter, a clean towel to sit the jars on as you fill them, a ladle, a canning funnel, a clean damp cloth or paper towels, new clean lids, and a plastic headspace/air bubble reducing tool.  If you have a canning kit, everything you need will be included.

Remove one jar at a time from the water with tongs, pouring the water in the jar back into the pot.  Leave the burner turned on at the simmer level while you do this. Fill each jar with jam leaving a 1/4 inch headspace at the top.  Use the head space tool to measure so you are leaving the correct amount of head space for the recipe. Use a funnel while doing this. It saves time because you don't have as much cleaning to do on the jars.  You may want to stir the jam in the pot a time or two during the process just to make sure you are keeping the liquid/fruit ratio consistent as you fill the jars.

You can run the air bubble reducing tool around the interior of each filled jar to help eliminate air bubbles, (it doesn't actually matter with jams and jellies), then wipe the rims of the jars off with a damp cloth or paper towel to remove any jam that would prevent the lids from sealing properly.   Place a lid on the jar, then a screw band, being careful  not to over-tighten the band.  Twist the band just until you feel resistance and stop.  Repeat with all jars, then place jars on canning rack and lower into the water. Make sure the jars are covered with at least one inch of water.  Add water if necessary, and remove any water over 1 to 2 inches above the jars. More water than you need in the canner just takes it longer to come to a boil.  Put the lid on the canner and turn up the heat to high.  Bring to a full boil.  Once a full hard boil happens, put a timer to 10 minutes and allow to boil for that long. Don't fail to use a timer, and don't start the timer until the water is in a full strong boil.  You can off set the lid slightly if water begins to spew out during the processing time. 

Turn the heat off when the timer goes off and allow the jars to remain in the hot water for an additional 5 minutes, then remove them using a jar lifter, taking care to not allow the jars to tilt and to keep the lifters placed on the glass when lifting, not the band, and allow them to sit on a towel on the countertop undisturbed for 24 hours. Do NOT tighten the bands! There will be water on the tops of the lids.  Don't wipe the water off, just allow it to remain there.  Most of it will evaporate and what doesn't can be wiped off once the jars are fully sealed. After 24 hours, check to confirm they all sealed.  There should be no movement or give whatsoever on the lids.  If any of them failed to seal, place them in the refrigerator and use them first. This is unlikely, but possible.  I've never had a jar fail to seal properly. The most common cause of a seal failure is when a jar tilts or falls over onto it's side in the pot before you lift it out to cool.  Because it isn't sealed yet, jam can get into the space between the lid and the jar rim and prevent a proper seal.

Once the jars are completely cooled and you have checked for proper seals, do not tighten the bands on the jars.  This can actually compromise the seal.  The band should only be tightened after the jam has been opened to use and refrigerated.  Until then, the bands should remain loose but intact.  Some people prefer to remove the bands when they store their jars.  There is no harm in doing so, however, I don't recommend stacking jars on top one another when storing whether you choose to remove the bands or not.

Add identifying labels to your jam that include a "best if used by" date.  Kerr has new "Sure Seal" jar lids that make a better seal allowing you to go 18 months for a "best if used by" date, but if you aren't using those, 12 months from the date you make the jam is the date to use.  

All that's left to do is store your yummy jam in a cool dark place, such as your pantry, or... share it with friends and family!  

I've finished 2 of my 3 batches.  I have to make a mad dash to the grocery store for more pectin.  I thought I had enough, but I was WRONG, shucks!!!  I'll finish my last batch tomorrow.  

It's very good!  This is what I scraped out of the pot before I washed it.  I love the fresh strawberry taste and the color is so nice!  I better get more English muffins while I'm at the store, something tells me I'm going to be eating more of them toasted with a little butter and some of this jam on them, with my morning coffee!

Mixed Nut Brittle

I came across this recipe for a nut brittle today by "The Candy Man" of Savannah, Georgia. Their site is savannahcandy.com - looks like they have lots of yummy stuff there!  I actually found the recipe on a Paula Deen Pinterest board.  When I looked at the Candy Man's website, I couldn't find it posted there.

I didn't have all the types of nuts it called for, so I went with what I had on hand, which was almonds, pecans, and peanuts, and I roasted them before I started the process.  You have to focus when you make this stuff.... have everything ready in advance, and be aware of what your next step is at pretty much every moment!  You have to move fast!

The end result is well worth the effort.  This brittle is crunchy, not sticky at all, airy, and just downright delicious!  I'm so glad I tried it, I now have a new "keeper" for my recipe files!

Here's how mine looked:

Here's the recipe from Paula Deen:

Nutty Brittle From Savannah’s Candy Man

By Paula Deen

• Difficulty: Expert

• Prep time: 20 minutes
• Cook time: 20 minutes
• Servings: 20

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup almonds
• 1/2 cup macadamias
• 1/2 cup cashews
• 1/2 cup pecans
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 cup water
• 1 1/4 cups light corn syrup
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 3 teaspoons baking soda

Directions

In a nonstick saucepan, heat and stir sugar, corn syrup, water and salt over medium heat until sugar has dissolved. Over high heat, using a candy thermometer, cook sugar mixture to a hard crack stage (290 °F).
Add nuts and butter and cook to 300 °F stirring all the time to keep the nuts from burning. Pull off heat at 300 °F and stir in baking soda while beating to froth for 30 seconds.
Pour at once on to 4 well buttered 15 1/2 by 10 by 1-inch pans. Spread with a spatula as thin as possible. As the brittle cools you may use gloves to hand stretch the brittle which will give it a better eating quality.
This brittle has a great shelf life, if kept in airtight zip locks or containers, it will keep for 2 months.


Notes from me:
I didn't use a non-stick pan, I chose to use a heavy-bottomed one instead and I had no problems. The recipe doesn't specify what size pan  to use, but it needs to be a large one.  If you are not an experienced candy maker, I wouldn't attempt this without using a candy thermometer.  I know it says there are 20 servings, but c'mon.  No. Not at my house, anyway!!

Triple Cinnamon Scones

Oh my cinnamon goodness!!  When I came across this recipe, I knew immediately I had to try it!
I have Sheryl at ladybehindthecurtain.com to thank for it.  I spotted her post on Pinterest.  I followed her directions except for one tiny change, I used a little more than 1 tablespoon of softened butter to spread onto the dough before adding the filling.  They are really good, so if you love scones, hop over to Sheryl's site and get the recipe.

Here's how mine looked right out of the oven after glazing:

They don't take long to make, and if you bake scratch biscuits, you will already be pretty much familiar with the steps involved.  That gooey cinnamon layer in the middle is what makes these so worth the time to make!

Apple Butter Shortbread Bars

October is just around the corner, which is when I have a family reunion in Louisiana. Guess who's responsible for desserts? Yep, that would be me. Here's the first recipe I'm thinking about taking. These bars are composed of apple butter slathered between two buttery, tender shortbread cookie dough layers. Then it's topped with a glaze and finished off with a sprinkling of white sanding sugar. I love apple butter, and the shortbread isn't on the "too sweet" side.

This recipe can be altered in so many ways. I have already used strawberry jam in the middle - delicious, and at some point, I plan to try multiple other flavor combinations in both the filling and the dough.

Here's the ingredient list:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter, softened to room temperature
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup apple butter
12 thin ginger snaps (such as Anna's brand), crushed
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Glaze:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 heaping tablespoon apple butter
1 tablespoon water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously coat a 9 x 13 jelly roll pan or baking dish with non-stick cooking spray, set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt.

In a small bowl, whisk the egg and stir the vanilla into it.

Add the softened butter and egg/vanilla mixture to the flour mixture and mix with your hands until evenly blended and smooth. The dough will be crumbly at first, but continue to work it until it sticks together and forms a ball. Gather up all the loose bits and remaining flour from the bottom of the bowl and press/work into the dough ball.

Divide the dough ball in half by cutting with a knife or bench scraper, as shown.

Press half the dough into the prepared jelly roll pan or baking dish as evenly as possible, covering the bottom and up the sides all the way around about a half inch or so.
Dollop the apple butter onto the bottom layer of dough and spread evenly with the back of a spoon.

Place the ginger snaps in a quart size zipper bag and crush to a medium-fine crumb. Add the ground cinnamon to the crushed cookies in the bag, close the bag and mix. Pour the cookie/cinnamon mixture into a bowl with the remaining unused half of the cookie dough. Mix with your hands until the cookie crumbs appear to be evenly distributed throughout.

Pinch off small pieces of the dough and place on top of the apple butter until it's entirely covered.
Bake for 35 minutes, then remove from oven and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes.

During the baking period, make the glaze.

Press the powdered sugar through a strainer into a medium bowl to minimize lumps. Add the apple butter and water. Whisk vigorously until smooth and pour into a sandwich size zip lock bag.

While bars are cooling, snip a very small portion of a bottom corner of the bag of glaze and drizzle ribbons of glaze over the entire surface.
After the bars have cooled in the pan for ten minutes and the glaze has been drizzled on, lightly sprinkle white sanding sugar (not regular sugar) over the entire surface.

Cut in half, then cut each half into equal size bars. Each half makes 12 bars for a total of 24 bars, or more if you choose to cut smaller ones.
Store in an air tight container at room temperature.

The center is moist, the cookie layers are buttery and hold up very well. Easy to slice, easy to serve! That's just the sort of thing I need for my upcoming event. Next, have to decide what else is on the dessert menu for our family get-together. 'Scuse me while I go have one of these with a cuppa coffee!

Easy Apple Cinnamon Cake

This cake isn't made with fresh apples. This cake isn't "scratch". This cake eater doesn't care!!!
Seriously, it's an easy version that really is moist and delish. Give it a try sometime!







Here's how it happens:

Cake Batter Ingredients:

1 15.25 oz. Duncan Hines Classic Yellow cake mix
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon apple pie spice
3 large eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 21 oz. can apple pie filling
Optional: 1 cup (divided use) chopped pecans or walnuts

Whisk the first 3 ingredients together in a large bowl to mix well.

Combine the next 4 ingredients together in a medium bowl and whisk together well. Add the liquid ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients and stir to combine before mixing with a hand or stand mixer on medium speed for about 2 minutes until smooth. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Pour the apple pie filling into a bowl and, using a knife, cut the apples up into smaller pieces.

If using the optional nuts, take 3/4 of a cup of them and add to the batter along with the pie filling.

Stir the nuts and apples in by hand until evenly combined. The batter is done.... time to prepare the baking pan. I'm using my favorite tube pan today, but a large bundt pan will work just fine too. To prepare the pan, spray it generously with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine 1/3 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour, and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon. Stir to combine and pour into pan, coating well.

Pour or spoon batter into pan. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean from the center.

Remove the cake from oven and allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a serving plate. Because of the type of pan coating I chose to use, which creates a slightly crunchy exterior on the cake, I've chosen to leave my cake top side down, but if you're using a tube pan, you can glaze which ever side you want! Next, use a wooden or metal skewer, or chopsticks work well too... and poke holes in the top of the cake. Toothpicks are too small to do this with effectively. You can skip this if you want, the cake is plenty moist inside thanks to the pie filling.

While the cake is cooling for the 10 minute period, prepare the glaze.

Glaze Ingredients:

1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Push the confectioners' sugar through a strainer to eliminate lumps, into a medium bowl.

Add all the remaining glaze ingredients and whisk together until smooth.

Spread the glaze evenly over the cake as shown below:

If using the optional nuts, sprinkle the reserved 1/4 cup of them over the top of the glaze. I like to finish this cake off with some clear edible glitter, just to brighten up the presentation a bit. Totally optional!!

And now there's nothing left to do but EAT CAKE!!!! Yippeeee! This is my favorite part!

Hashbrown Crusted Breakfast Pie

This is so easy and "change-up-able", and it's often enjoyed for dinner at my house rather than breakfast.  I really enjoy foods traditionally served at breakfast time for dinner.... all of them..... I just love breakfast stuff!  You need to use a deep dish 9 inch (1 qt. capacity) pie plate for this.  Here's what you need to throw this together:

For the crust:
3 cups frozen shredded hashbrown potatoes
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon flour
Salt & pepper

For the filling:
4 large eggs
3/4 cup grated Pepper Jack cheese
3/4 cup grated Cheddar cheese
1 (4 oz.) can fire roasted chopped green chiles, drained
1 cup fully cooked ground pork sausage
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup milk
Salt & pepper
Smoky Sweet Paprika (optional)

I've been asked if fresh potatoes or non-frozen grated potatoes would work with this instead of frozen ones, and yes, they will.  I use frozen ones because if I keep them stocked in my freezer, I never have to worry about having to run to the store to get potatoes if I don't happen to have any on hand.  Whatever potato choice you make, the important thing is to make sure you get as much moisture off of them as possible before you add the melted butter and press them into the pie plate. I also use Jimmy Dean fully cooked sausage patties, which I get at Sam's and keep stocked in my freezer.  They come 4 patties to a package.  One package is the perfect amount for this.  I just defrost it in the microwave and crumble it up with my hands.  Just get a tube of your favorite ground breakfast sausage and crumble it up and brown it if you don't used the fully cooked version.

I just spread them out into a separate pie plate to microwave them for thawing.

Here, I've patted them dry and added the flour, butter, salt and pepper, mixing with my hands.

To make the crust, defrost the potatoes in the microwave at 40% power for a few minutes at a time, stirring in between, until fully defrosted.  Press paper towels over the top to absorb any excessive moisture, then mix around and repeat once more.  Sprinkle the flour and salt & pepper to taste into the thawed potatoes and mix well.  I just do all the potato mixing with my hands.  Add melted butter, making sure all the potatoes are well coated before moving on to the next step.

There's actually no need to spray the pie plate with non-stick spray before forming the crust, but I can't stop myself, I always do it anyway.  You don't have to! Don't be like me!!!!  Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

After pressing the potatoes into the dish with my hands as evenly as possible, I smooth the surface.

Put all the potatoes right into the pie plate and begin forming the crust with your hands, trying to keep a consistently even thickness on the bottom and sides. Once I have it pressed in by hand, I smooth out the bottom with one of my measuring cups.  Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, until the edges begin to brown.  While the crust is baking, prepare the filling.

   

Whisk the eggs well in a large bowl. Add the cheeses, green chiles, cooked sausage, cream, milk, and salt & pepper.  Mix it all up well. Remove the crust from the oven and lower the oven temperature to 415 degrees.

Here's what the crust should look like when ready to add filling - just starting to brown around the edges.

   

Pour the filling into the crust - you may have a "pile" in the center... just level it out with the back of a spoon. 

   

This is the Smoky Sweet Paprika I like so much.  You can use regular paprika or none at all, but it adds color to the top, and because the center is somewhat bland looking, I like to add it.

Return to the oven, now at 415 degrees, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until set.  Once it's done, the center of the pie should not be cratered inward, it should be lifted level with the edges, and it should be nicely browned, with a very slight jiggle, if any. 

Here's what the bottom looks like.

 The potato crust will be soft along the inside, but should be crispy on the outside.  It should cut nicely and hold together well.  Let the pie sit for 5 minutes before cutting.

If you keep with the volumes I have used here, you can switch up the ingredients any way you want. Use different cheeses and meats.  Omit one of the cheeses and add some caramelized onions.  Put some sliced cherry tomatoes all around the top.  Add a little Tabasco or Cajun spice blend if you want to.  Make it your way! 

I have also used muffin tins for this instead of a pie plate, but it's waaaaay more time consuming!