Make A Wish Pomegranate Jelly

Good Monday morning Jammers.  Have you been good little elves, getting your baking done and yummy treats together to share with loved ones this Yule season?  I’ve decided to add some pre-measured and bagged biscuit mix to my jam filled goodie bags for the neighbors.  I will hopefully have them ready to deliver by Thursday.  I spent yesterday relaxing and watching football while still managing to whip out a batch of snickerdoodles.  I had no idea my honey loved them so much!  I had made a batch to take to our friend’s annual boat parade party on Saturday night and it was the first time I had ever made them.  Now I just need to find a good recipe to keep on hand since both of these batches were done with a pre-packaged mix.  Anyone wanna share a good recipe?

The next recipe that I want to share with you is one I did a few weeks ago for a plain and simple pomegranate jelly.  I love pomegranates and they were in all the stores at the time but I was really NOT looking forward to juicing them NOR was I looking forward to the cost of purchasing them, at $2 a piece, considering the fact that I needed 6 of the buggers.  I found a recipe that uses bottled 100% pomegranate juice and realized it was on sale that week!  I was in luck, it turned out to be a pretty inexpensive batch, compared to some of the others I have made.  I researched the associations of the pomegranate and found the most popular ones were wishes and renewal.  I thought it would be perfect as a Christmas jelly for my gift bags. 

Make a Wish Pomegranate Jelly

2 16oz bottles 100% pomegranate juice
1 1.75oz package powdered fruit pectin
1/2 teaspoon butter
5 cups sugar

Preheat canner, sterilize jars and prepare the lids. In an 8 qt pan combine the juice, pectin and the butter.  Over high heat, bring mixture to a full rolling boil that can not be stirred down, stirring constantly.  Add the entire amount of sugar and stir to dissolve.  Return mixture to a full rolling boil and boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly.   

Remove pan from heat and skim off any foam.  Fill hot sterilized jars with the jelly, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean damp cloth and add the lids and rings and place jars in preheated canner.  Bring canner to a boil and process for 10 minutes.  Remove the jars and place on a towel on the counter and leave undisturbed for 24 hours.  Check the seal before storing. Use within 12 months.

Makes about 7 half pint jars.

This jelly had a perfect set and I am very happy with the texture and flavor however it is not the “prettiest” jelly in the cabinet.  Bottled juice is not a bright red color so the jelly was a dark brownish red but the flavor makes up for the looks, I assure you.  I have since done this one again using a pomegranate blend.  I’ll post it another time.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday (whichever way you choose to celebrate it) season and may your New Year be prosperous and joy filled. 

Till next time, Be Blessed and Be Sweet!

P.S. – Sorry there are no pictures for this one.