Cowboy Candy

Our garden always produces an abundance of jalapeno peppers and I never know what to do with them all!  I found this recipe on pinterest and thought I’d give it a try.  It’s supposed to be good on hamburgers, hot dogs, as a relish, on cream cheese with crackers etc.  If you know of other uses for cowboy candy, let me know!  Some of our jalepenos had turned red so I have a nice mix of red and green peppers in mine. 

If you’ve never canned before, typically I wash my canning jars, lids and bands in the dishwasher on sanitation wash the morning before I want to can.  Then I fill my canner with water and put jars, lids and bands in the water and start heating.  By the time I am ready to fill my jars, they have been sitting in boiling water for quite a while.  Then that water is nice and hot and doesn’t take too long to heat back up to a boil once the jars are filled and ready to go.

Ingredients: 
3 pounds jalepenos
2 cups cider vinegar
6 cups white granulated sugar
½ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon celery seed
3 teaspoons granulated garlic (I used garlic powder)
1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

Directions:

Make sure you wear gloves while you are cutting your jalepeno peppers.  I have learned this the hard way, especially with 3 pounds of peppers!!  Slice the stems off and discard.  Slice the peppers into about a ¼ inch round.  Set aside.

In a large pot bring the rest of the ingredients to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.  Add the pepper slices and simmer for 4 minutes.  Use a slotted spoon to transfer the peppers into clean, sterile canning jars.  Fill to ¼ inch of the upper rim of the jar.  Turn the heat back up under the pot and boil the syrup for 6 minutes.

Use a ladle to pour the syrup over the jalalpenos.  Insert a knife to release any trapped air.  Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean damp towel and fix on new lids and tops.
 
Place jars in a canner, cover with water by 2 inches.  Bring the water to a full boil and boil for 10 minutes for half pints and 15 minutes for pints.  After 10 minutes use canning tongs to transfer jars to a cooling rack.  Leave to cool for 24 hours.
 
Says to let mellow for 2 weeks to a month.  I haven’t eaten these yet as they are in the canner processing as I type!  J  I will definitely keep you posted as to how they turn out!

Enjoy!