Sunday, August 14, 2016

Easy Peach Freezer Jam

After whipping up this recipe (resulting in 4-5 cans of jam to stash in our freezer) we’ll never go back to regular canning again. Seriously, this delicious peach jam could not be easier to make, and there’s no hassle with having to sterilize jars, thank goodness. Plus, we’ve got a trick that makes peeling peaches a breeze. No more dealing with a paring knife or a vegetable peeler, just a quick dunk in some boiling water and the skins come off no problem!

Fresh peaches, along with a little sugar (less than one cup!), white grape juice, lemon juice, cinnamon and nutmeg pull this jam together, and give it amazing flavor, so once that’s all combined, you’re in business. Grab your mason jars and get cooking. After a couple hours of cooling, keep one jar open and pop the rest in the freezer. Whether it’s on a slice of toast or with a couple slices of cheese, this stuff is absolutely amazing!

Peach Freezer Jam

20 MINUTES ACTIVE; 2 HOURS INACTIVE TO PREPARE, SERVES 8-10

INGREDIENTS

1 (1.75 oz.) package no-sugar-needed fruit pectin
5-6 ripe peaches, peeled and diced
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened white grape juice
5 (8 oz.) mason jars or tupperware containers
1/2-1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

PREPARATION

Bring a large pot of water to boil and carefully lower peaches into water. Cook for 30 seconds, then remove from water and place in an ice bath to prevent further cooking.
Once cool, peel skin off and dice into small pieces. Purée peaches in food processor until smooth.
Pour grape juice and lemon juice into a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then stir in pectin.
Make sure mixture is at a rolling boil and use a wire whisk to stir until pectin is fully dissolved. Cook for 1 minute.
Add in peach puree, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, then let cook (boiling) for 5-6 minutes.
Remove jam from heat and pour into glass containers, make sure to leave space on the top for the jam to expand in the freezer.
Let cool fully, then seal jars and store in freezer.

Thursday, August 11, 2016

he Secret to Making the Perfect Chocolate and Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies

Chocolate and Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookie Recipe

I have been making these cookies for many years and have seen and followed a variety of recipes. Sometimes they turned out dry, sometimes they didn’t set up at all, and other times they were the so delicious that they never made it to the cookie jar!

The two biggest secrets to make sure that these cookies are award winning every time is all about the timing. First of all you will see many recipes that calls for you to boil the mixture from anywhere from 1-3 minutes. They don’t tell you that you should start timing the boil when it is at a full and rapid boil, not when you first start to see bubbles. We NEVER go over 1 minute and 15 seconds when boiling, otherwise you end up with too dry of a mixture that results in crumbling cookies.

The second secret may seem silly, but it holds true every time – Do not make these cookies when it is raining outside. The change in the atmosphere does something that causes the cookie mixture to fail to set properly. Sounds crazy, but don’t risk it.