I realize these Christmas gift ideas are coming too late to really be helpful, but I just got them all finished up, so hopefully they can help you next year!
Bottled sweets are a great gift idea – I gave out apple pie filling to three of my favorite friends. You could also do spaghetti sauce, fudge, jam, syrup, whatever you have extra of in your pantry.
Here’s my recipe:
APPLE PIE FILLING (makes 7 quarts)
Fresh sliced apples (blanched) – 6 quarts
Granulated sugar – 5½ cups
REGULAR (not instant) Clear?Jel – 1½ cups (if you live in Utah, get Clear-Jel at Alpine Food Storage)
Cinnamon – 1 Tbsp.
Nutmeg (optional) – 1 tsp.
Cold water or fruit juice* – 2½ cups
Apple juice – 5 cups
Yellow food coloring – 7 drops
Bottled lemon juice – ¾ cup
Quality ? Use firm, crisp apples. Golden Delicious, Gravenstein, Granny Smith or Jonathan and other varieties of cooking apples are suitable. If apples lack tartness, use an additional ¼ cup of lemon juice for each 6 quarts of slices.
Procedure ? Wash, peel, and core apples. Cut slices ½ inch wide and place in water to cover containing 1 teaspoon of ascorbic acid crystals or 6 crushed 500 mg vitamin C tablets. Blanch 6 cups of apples at a time in 1 gallon of boiling water. Boil each batch for 1 minute after water returns to a boil. Drain but keep blanched apples in a covered pot so they will stay warm. Combine sugar, Clear? Jel, and cinnamon in a large kettle with water and/or apple juice. If desired, food coloring and nutmeg may be added. Stir and cook on medium high heat until mixture thickens and begins to bubble. Add lemon juice and boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Fold in drained apple slicesimmediately. Fill pint or quart jars without delay, leaving 1?½ inch headspace. Adjust lids and process immediately (see Canning).
*Water can be replaced with apple juice for a more apple flavored filling.
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Next year I’m going to do waay more apple pie filling because it has made such an easy gift!
What are you giving as neighbor gifts this year?
Recipe from the Oregon State University Extension Service
Quantities of Ingredients Needed
foi
Fresh sliced apples (blanched)
Granulated sugar
Clear-Jel
Cinnamon
Nutmeg (optional)
Cold water or fruit juice*
Apple juice
Yellow food coloring (optional)
Bottled lemon iuice
QUALITY: Use firm, crisp apples. Golden Delicious, Gravenstein, Granny Smith or Jonathan
and other varieties of cookingapples are suitable. If apples lack tartness,
use an additional % cup
of lemon juice for each 6 quarts of slices.
PROCEDURE: wash, geel, a1d core apples. cut slices %nchwide and place
in water
containing I teaspoon of ascorbic acid crystals or 6 crushed 500 mg
vitamin C tablets in I gallon
of water. Blanch 6 cups of apples at a timefor I minute in I gallon of boiling
water. Keep
blanched apples in a c_overed pot so they will stay warm. coribine
sugar, ClJar-Jel, cinnamon,
and nutmeg (if desired) in a large kettle. Stir. Add water and./or
applejuice, and food coloring (if
desired). Stir and cook on medium high heat until mixture thickens
and begins to bubble. Drain
apple slices. Add lemon juice and boii I minute, stirring constantly.
Fold in apple slices. Fill pint
or quart jars leaving l%-inchheadspace. process immediately (page
4).
twater
can be replaced with apple juice for a more apple flavored
3Yz cups
3/+cup + 2
Tbsp.
%cup
%tsp.
%tw.
% cup
3/r
cup
l drop
2 Tbsp.
6 quarts
cups
lYz cttps
1 Tbsp.
I tsp.
SYz
2%cups
5 cups
7 drops
/o cu
filling.
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