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10 Quick Jelly Ideas

Chicken Wings and Drumsticks

Who says you can only enjoy Pepper Jellies during Christmas??!! You’ve most likely been served Pepper Jelly during the holiday season at a party on crackers and cream cheese or baked w/ your favorite Brie Cheese. Who doesn’t love this combination? There is nothing quite like the spicy kick from the Pepper Jelly mixed with the cheesy salty goodness of the crackers and cheese.

But what else can you do with pepper jelly? This is such a versatile product that there are probably hundreds of different ways you can use it, depending on your taste preferences.
We have a lot of great ideas for how to use Pepper Jelly during the rest of the year. I even included links to some recipes below!
Here I have listed 10 ways to use Pepper Jelly – other than the fan favorite crackers and cream cheese. Now all you have to do is figure out what flavor of my jellies you want to use!
1. Glaze over pork, fish, lamb or chicken while grilling.
2. Ham and Turkey Sandwich – use pepper jelly instead of mustard- Holiday Favorite!
3. Peanut Butter and Pepper Jelly Sandwiches – my kids LOVE this one – especially good with my Very Berry Jalapeno Jelly.

4. Cocktail Meatballs – Cook frozen meatballs on low in a crockpot and mix with 1 Jar Pepper Jelly. Heat until meatballs are cooked through. We like to use this with either our either of our Jalapeno jellies – Pineapple Jalapeno or Very Berry Jalapeno or our Pineapple Roasted Garlic Jelly, but works well with any flavor.

5. Use as a dip for Egg Rolls, Coconut Shrimp or Chicken Wings – melt pepper jelly a bit before serving.
6. Glaze over Pork Tenderloin – cook in oven and at the very end of cooking, add pepper jelly as a glaze.
7. Serve over ice cream (one of my favorites!)
8. Make thumbprint cookies with pepper jelly instead of regular jam
9. Deviled eggs is one of our family favorites – mix together same portions of mayo-mustard and our Pineapple Habanero jelly. For 24 eggs we use 1/3 cup of each ingredient.
10. Mix it up and make a dip! You can really use your imagination on this one, mixing pepper jelly with cream cheese is a simple dip, you can even heat it in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes (or until bubbly) and serve it warm with tortilla chips or crackers. Look for an Artichoke Dip w/ Pepper Jelly recipe… super yummy!

Cream Cheese Dip

Pepper Jelly Cheese Dip.jpg

Ingredients:

  • 2 8oz blocks of cream cheese, softened

  • 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

  • 2 green onions, sliced

  • 8 Ritz crackers, crushed

  • 8 slices of bacon, chopped up

  • 1/2 cup of pepper jelly

 

Directions:

  • Preheat over to 350 degrees. In a pie plate combine the first 3 ingredients and smooth it out across the dish. Top with crushed Ritz and chopped bacon. (If you're making this ahead just stop here until you're closer to serving)  Bake for 15 minutes. Towards the end of baking put 1/2 cup of pepper jelly into a microwave safe container, microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring, until melted.  As soon as the dip comes out of the oven evenly spread the melted pepper jelly over the top. Serve with Ritz or your favorite crackers.

Thumbprint Cookies

Thumbprint-Cookies-300x249.jpg

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature (226g)

  • 1/3 cup sugar (70g)

  • 1/3 cup light brown sugar, tightly packed (70g)

  • 1 large egg yolk

  • 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • 2 1/4 cup all purpose flour (280g)

  • 2 teaspooons cornstarch

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 1/2 cup sugar for rolling (optional)

  • 1/3 cup of Justy’s Jelly ( my favorites to use are the very berry jalapeno or habanero, tropical habanero, vanilla peach, strawberry daiquiri or tropical fruit).

 

Instructions:

  • Place butter in the bowl of a stand mixer (you may instead use a large bowl and an electric hand mixer) and beat until creamy.

  • Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add sugars, and beat, gradually increasing mixer speed to medium-high until ingredients are well-combined (about 30-60 seconds).

  • Add egg yolk and vanilla extract and beat well.

  • In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt.

  • With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture to wet ingredients until completely combined.  This dough will seem very dry and crumbly, so be sure to pause occasionally to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.  If it starts to strain your mixer you can use your hands to finish working the dough together.

  • Scoop cookie dough into 1 Tablespoon-sized balls and roll very well (so that the dough is round and there are no cracks/seams in the cookie dough — this will help keep your thumbprints from cracking).

  • Roll in granulated sugar (if using) and place on a wax-paper covered plate or small cookie sheet.  Use your thumb or the rounded back of a teaspoon to gently press an indent in the center of the cookie dough.  Repeat until all of the dough has been used.

  • Transfer cookie dough to freezer and chill for 30 minutes.

  • Once dough is done chilling, preheat oven to 375F (190C) and place your jam in a small microwave-safe bowl.  Heat briefly (about 5-10 seconds) or until jam is not hot but is no longer firm and is easy to stir.

  • Spoon jam into each thumbprint, filling each indent to the brim.

  • Once oven is preheated, place cookies at least 2″ apart on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet and bake on 375F (190C) for 11 minutes or until edges are just beginning to turn golden brown.

  • Allow cookies to cool completely on baking sheet before enjoying.

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