Spiced Christmas Jam

Spiced Christmas Jam is absolutely delicious. It is sweet with a bit of tartness from the cranberries, a perfect holiday favorite. My family enjoys this over some cream cheese with crackers. Many of the kids eat this all year long on peanut butter sandwiches. This Christmas Jam also makes for a great homemade gift for friends and family.

I don’t make mine the consistency of jelly, because I like to have this to serve over cream cheese. If you want it more firm just cook it down until it is the consistency you like.

I use frozen strawberries, you can use fresh ones as well. I have also made this with honey instead of sugar. The flavor was wonderful, but it does take a good bit longer to cook down and get the consistency you may want.

You don’t want to double this recipe. As with most jams and jelly’s they don’t seem to set up right when they are doubled. The original recipe called for 1/4 tsp of each of the spices. For us personally, I liked it with 1/2 teaspoon. You can try it with the 1/4 teaspoon and always add more if you like.

Now let’s get started! You want to get all your ingredients together and ready. Also, go ahead and start your water bath canner. I love my Ball Water Bath Canner/Cooker. I use it for everything from water bath canning to cooking down my broths.

Ingredients

40oz Frozen Strawberries
16oz (1lb) Cranberries
Zest of 1 Orange
1 Orange (peeled)
1/2 tsp Ground Cloves
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Allspice
4 Cups of Sugar
1.5 packs of Sure-Jell Pectin
1/2 C Water
1/2 tsp butter

Let me tell you, your home is going to smell amazing while this is all cooking down!

At this point, I make sure my jars are warm. I always place my jars and lids in my oven and set the oven to 200 degrees.

Directions for making Spiced Christmas Jam

You can cook your berries down in a pot or you can run them through a food processor to make it quicker. Whichever you choose will outcome is the same.

Add to a pot your strawberries, cranberries, oranges, orange zest, spices, and water. Cook your mixture down until the cranberries bust open. At this point, I take my immersion blender and blend the berries altogether. If you already did this in your food processor then you will skip this altogether.

Add in your sure-jell fruit pectin (be sure to follow the instructions on the box) and add the butter. The butter is just to help with the foaming. Bring your jam to a rolling boil, stirring constantly. Don’t walk away, it can boil over quickly.

Now add the sugar to the jam and stir well. Bring your jam back to a rolling boil and boil for 1 minute. Skim off any foam before you ladle the jam into your jars.

Turn your heat off and ladle the jam into your hot jars. Be sure to leave 1/4 inch of headspace. Wipe the rims and place the lids and rings on.

Place your jars in a water bath canner and make sure you have them covered with 2 inches of water.

Bring your canner to a rolling boil and then process for 10 minutes.

When they are finished place them on a towel and let them sit undisturbed for 24 hours.

Be sure to remove the rings and check all your seals. If you need to wash your jars before placing them in the pantry.

If you would like to use honey in place of sugar. You would use a 1/2 cup of honey per 1 cup of sugar.

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