Whisky Fig Cranberry Sauce

Servings: 4 Quarter Pints Per Single Batch

Ingredients

For every 12 oz bag cranberries:

1/8 to 1/4 cup whisky
3/4 cup apple cider, apple juice, or water
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup [50 g] diced dried apricots [optional]
1 cup [8 oz] fresh figs tips and tails removed, sliced into eighths
zest and juice of 1/2 lime or 1/4 lemon [zest will be added towards the end of the process]
1/2 to 1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 to 1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cardamom [OPTIONAL]
1/4 tsp cloves

Instructions

In a large pot over medium high heat, bring the cider [juice or water] to a boil.
Add the sugar and stir until dissolved, bringing up to a boil [takes about 5 minutes].
Add the cranberries and optional dried apricots. [If your cranberries are frozen, bring the mixture back to a boil before continuing.]
Add the quartered fresh figs, citrus juice, extract, and spices, and return to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium low, boiling gently and stirring occasionally, until most all of the berries have burst and the liquid thickens considerably. Be sure to stop when the sauce begins to sheet on a metal spoon. [At least 15 minutes. Larger batches take longer. I prefer a jammy sauce, so I do tend to cook anywhere from 15-55 minutes.]
Add the whisky and citrus zest and stir to incorporate.
Boil the mixture on low, again, stirring occasionally, until the liquid once again sheets on a metal spoon.
Remove from heat.
At this point, the sauce may be ladled into hot sterilized jars and canned using a boiling water bath [leaving .25-in headspace in jars and processing for 15 minutes.]
Or, ladle the sauce into containers, cool, seal, and store in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Notes

Feel free to slice your figs ahead of time and freeze them, too!

2020 Update: This Christmas, I added about 1/8 cup of diced candied ginger [per bag of cranberries] to my most recent batch.

This is a new and improved version of the Whisky Fig Cranberry Sauce from my previous website, The Lunchbox Season. That’s still a great recipe. But, this one is streamlined and packs more of a punch!

Print Recipe

Chunky Caramel Apple Jam

The alcohol and spice are optional. Recipe may be increased successfully by one-half, see notes.

Servings: 5 half-pints

Ingredients

3 c granulated sugar
3/4 c water
4 lbs tart apples [about 10 medium, peeled, cored, chopped into uneven pieces of about 1/4 and 1/2 inch, and mixed with lemon juice, below – I most recently used a mix of red Spartans and green HoneyCrisps & Honeygolds]
2 tbsp fresh or bottled lemon juice [combined with the chopped apples, above]
1 c brown sugar [packed]
1 tsp cinnamon [optional]
1/2 tsp nutmeg [optional]
1/4 tsp cloves [optional]
3 tbsp rye, bourbon, whiskey, or brandy [optional]
1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Notes on Temperature: I most often use a traditional jam pan which heats easily and requires lower cooking temperatures. [Heating instructions for a heavy bottomed 6-to-8-quart pot are italicized and in brackets.]
Before you start: If you want to preserve these jars for more than a few weeks in the fridge, have warm sterilized canning jars warming on the lowest setting in your oven. And prepare a hot water canning bath. Also, throw a small plate into the freezer to help test jam for doneness.
Before you prepare the caramel: Make sure the apples are peeled, cored, chopped into 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces, and blended with lemon juice before starting to cook. Also, measure your water, brown sugar, optional spices, optional booze, and vanilla, so they're ready to go.

Making the Caramel

Pour the white sugar into a jam pan [or 6-to-8-quart heavy-bottomed pot] spreading the sugar evenly across the pan. Heat the sugar over medium-low [medium] heat, shaking the pot from time to time, WITHOUT STIRRING, until the sugar begins to melt. You will know the sugar has begun to melt when you see wisps of sugar beginning to clump together and become golden.
Once the sugar begins to melt, reduce the heat to low [medium-low] and STIR intermittently with a wooden or heat-proof rubberized spoon, until all of the sugar is melted and golden.
Remove the pot from the heat and carefully add the 3/4 cup of water in a slow pour, aiming in and around the centre of the pot. This sugar in the pot is going to harden up quickly and "seize" into a sheet of candy. Don't freak out!
Return the pot to the low [medium-low] heat, stirring until the caramel is once again dissolved. It is best to nudge the hardened sugar inwards and away from the edges of your pot gently with your spoon so that you don't get a lot of hardened sugar on the walls of your pot.

Cooking and Processing the Jam

When the caramel has fully dissolved once again, remove the pot from the heat and add the brown sugar, apples, and optional spices to the pot of caramel. It may spatter and harden again, but less distinctively than when you added the water in the step above.
Return the pot to medium [medium-high] heat and stir constantly until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture comes to a vigorous-but-gentle boil.
Boil, uncovered, stirring frequently, for 25-30 minutes,** or until the jam darkens and thickens considerably and a good half of the apples have softened into pulp. If you spoon a bit of the jam onto a frozen plate, it should firm up within a minute or two, remaining only slightly runny at the borders.
Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the optional booze and vanilla.
Ladle the hot jam into your hot, sterilized, canning jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Wipe the jar rims clean. Add the lids and screw bands so that the lids are securely in place but the bands aren't over-tightened.
Process these filled jars in a covered boiling water bath for 10 minutes, only starting your timer when that water bath has returned to a rolling boil.
Remove the jars from the canner and cool them completely on wire racks before labelling.

Notes

For this recipe, I recommend a mix of half red Cortland or Spartan apples and half greenish Honey Crisp or Honey Gold apples. If unavailable, search for a mix of the tartest apples you can find.

I most often use a traditional jam pan which heats easily and requires lower cooking temperatures. [Heating instructions for a heavy bottomed 6-to-8-quart pot are italicized and in brackets.]

This is the only jam recipe I make in which the jam becomes very thick before reaching a temperature of 220 F. [It usually maxes out at about 205 and sits there for the duration.]

I have also made this recipe in a larger batch, simply by multiplying all ingredients by 1.5 [using 6lbs of apples, for instance, or 15 medium], and cooking for **35-40 minutes once at a boil, or until the batch thickens considerably. This usually produces 8 or 9 half-pints.