How to Make Candy Apple Jelly with Four Simple Ingredients
By leahlefler
Candy Apple Jelly
Candy Apple Jelly: An Easy Jelly Recipe
With Thanksgiving and Christmas approaching, unique homemade gifts are often desired for party hosts and for friends and family. For people who love to can their own jelly and jam, Candy Apple Jelly is an excellent gift idea.
If giving this jelly as a gift, be sure to buy decorative jelly jars. Ball makes beautiful jelly jars with a quilted glass design. Cut a square of fabric with a seasonal design and place the fabric at an angle over the lid - secure the fabric in place with the jar's ring. Add a cute label stating "Candy Apple Jelly" and make the jelly part of a gift basket or use as a small hostess gift.
The apple jelly recipe is so easy to make, any beginning canner can make the jelly in a short period of time. This jelly fills the kitchen with an amazing cinnamon apple aroma. The jelly is brilliantly red, and tastes a lot like freshly baked apples. The flavor is amazing, and friends and family will be sure to want the recipe!
This recipe will make approximately 6-8 jars (8oz size) of jelly.
Candy Apple Jelly Ingredients
- 4 Cups Apple Juice
- ½ Cup Red Hots (candy)
- 4 ½ Cups sugar
- 1 package of pectin
Any store brand apple juice brand will work, and some people prefer to use apple cider for this recipe. The clearest, jewel-red color will come from using apple juice. Red hots are small, red cinnamon candies that can be found on most candy aisles, or in the bulk food department. Pectin is generally kept alongside other canning supplies, and may be found at any grocery store.
Finished Jelly
Apple Jelly Canning Supplies and Preparation
A large boiling water bath, canning funnel, lid lifters, lids and rings, and a jar lifter are needed to can the jelly. If the jelly is not canned, it must be refrigerated and eaten within 2 weeks. Canned jelly will keep in a pantry for up to a year.
Clean the jars and rings well with hot, soapy water, and set aside. Depending on the lid manufacturer, the lids may need to be boiled or merely washed in hot, soapy water (consult the instructions on the package).
A Fun and Simple Apple Jelly Recipe
How to Make the Candy Apple Jelly
- Add the apple juice, red hot candies, and pectin to a large saucepan. Stir to dissolve the pectin. Turn on the heat and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring frequently. Do not allow the candies to stick to the bottom of the pan. The candies will melt and the entire mixture will turn a brilliant red color.
- Once the jelly starts to boil, add the 4 ½ cups of sugar, stirring thoroughly to dissolve the sugar. The jelly will thicken considerably once the sugar is added. Bring the mixture back to a rolling boil, and boil for 2 minutes.
- Ladle off any foam or undissolved candies, and fill each prepared jar, leaving ¼” head space in each jar.
- Apply the lids and tighten the rings, and place the jars into the boiling water bath. Ensure that each jar is covered by 2” of boiling water, and process for 10 minutes. Remove the jars from the hot water bath with the jar lifter and set on the counter to cool.
- Each lid should “ping,” or seal with a popping sound after a period of time. Check the jars by pressing on the center of each lid: a sealed jar will not flex, and will remain depressed. Unsealed jars will flex up and down: these must be refrigerated and used within 2 weeks.
The Ball Canning Discovery Kit
 | The Ball Canning Discovery kit is excellent for beginning canners, as it allows anyone to use a basic stock pot to can basic recipes. The kit is inexpensive, which helps to allow a beginner to try canning without investing a lot of money in canning equipment. Amazon Price: $9.00 List Price: $14.69 |
Canning Supplies for Beginners
Canning may seem intimidating to some, but it is really a simple process. Anyone who has a vegetable garden or who likes to make homemade gifts should give it a try. I prefer the Ball jars and canning lids, though nearly any brand will work sufficiently well. Do not try to use the old fashioned wire and glass jars with the rubber seals: these often do not seal well, and the risk of botulism or other food poisoning makes these vintage jars unsuitable for modern canning. Current canning jars use glass jars and reusable rims, but the lids must be purchased new for each canning job to ensure a tight seal. Fortunately, the lids are very cheap!
Ball makes a “Canning Discovery Kit” which allows would-be canners to experiment with canning, and the Candy Apple Jelly is a fun and easy jelly to make with this kit. The kit comes with three mason jars, a basket to use in any large stock pot: this allows people to experiment with canning without investing in large amounts of money in canning equipment.
Comments
It is a really fun and easy canning recipe - and the jelly is so pretty from this recipe! I made some today. I had some friends introduce me to canning, and I love it. One warning, though: it can be addictive!
Thanks for sharing! This seems like such an easy and yummy thing to make. I think I'm going to try this for the holiday season. :)
It is the perfect homemade jelly gift - it really does taste wonderful. I made some today and have half a jar of "extra" in the fridge - it is excellent on toast!
Sounds so yummy and easy! I will try it out !
Thank you for the recipe : )
Thanks! It is really simple - the candies melt pretty quickly and you don't need to crush any fruit (like you do with strawberry jam). The apple jelly tastes great on a bagel or English Muffin!
This looks so simple. I have never thought of using candy in the jelly. Thats cool.
Nice Nice Nice I'm going to have to try this sounds good and tasty.......plus its super simple.
This looks like a great project for my teenagers! Working on some canning just now, as I read!
Oh this looks so great. I will be making it for my Christmas baskets this year. I hope I can bear to give it up. laugh
I always have a hard time giving up the jelly I can... both the boys eat a ton of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, so we go through a ton of it!
leann2800, I was really surprised by how well the candies melted. Just be sure to stir or else they will stick to the bottom of the pan as they melt!
Handicapped Chef and sagebrush mama, this recipe is really easy (as long as you stir while the candies are melting)! My kids are really excited to eat it - I had some on toast earlier.. delicious!
Hyphenbird, I was going to make it for gifts, too. It is so pretty and it really does taste great!
This sounds like a great, easy recipe! I'm not a big fan of added sugars to jellies/jams but I've yet to find a way to can without them. I am still going to try it though because I love to can and it sounds delicious and would be perfect gifts! I'll let you know how it turns out. :)
This is definitely NOT a "healthy" jelly - I usually make regular strawberry jam from real fruit (they sell no-sugar pectin that really helps with sugarless fruit jams). It is fun to make, though, and does make a great gift. I like it on toast and the boys thought it was really fun. They had it in their peanut butter and jelly sandwich the other day and loved it - I usually use strawberry jam, though!
Oh my gosh, this looks like such a fun jelly to make! Perhaps this can be a sort of "gateway recipe" for me- to get me easing into the process before moving on to more advanced jelly and jam recipes.
It is pretty simple! You can always modify the recipe to eliminate the candy, too (we generally try to avoid too many artificial dyes with the kids, but this was a fun one to make)! Strawberry jam is really easy to make, too (just strawberries, sugar, and a box of pectin)!
Yum. This sounds absolutley delicious. If I can't get Red Hots candy, can I substitutre with something else, or do you need that for the cinnamon flavour?
You could try red cinnamon flavored jelly beans. I'm not sure if it would come out the same, though...
I wasn't sure where to find red-hots, but they were actually in the bulk foods aisle (where the candy is stored in large tubs).
If you're going to substitute the candy portion of the recipe, I would make a guess that jelly beans would do the best job of it. I've never tried it before, though, so no guarantee on the results! :)
I've never heard of a jelly apple. I don't really like apples but I love caramel, so I would pick the caramel apple. It makes the apple easier to eat.
I have actually thought of trying a recipe with apple juice and caramel jelly beans... it may work! The color would be a dull brown, however... so it might not look as appetizing!
I like this idea. I had used similar ingredients with chopped apples, which is great served over ham and other meats, but this jelly looks really fun and versatile.
Oh, I bet using the red-hots with chopped apples would taste great over ham! We used to have a pork recipe that used apple cider - it was delicious. I need to find it again (we used to cook it a lot when we lived in Ireland, because it was one recipe that we could find all the ingredients for there)! The candy apple jelly is pretty fun to make, and it does taste good over toast!
It sounds wonderful and looks so easy.
It is very easy! This would be a great first canning project!
Sounds good! I may have to give this a try.
It is a fun fall canning project - it is a fun thing to give away as a homemade gift, or to bring to Thanksgiving dinner to spread on toast!
does this set up immediately or does it take a day?
Hi Shari, the jelly takes about a day to completely firm up. It will be a little on the "loose" side if used before it has completely set. You can also do a "gel test" by spooning off some of the boiling jelly and putting it on a cold plate - if it gels up nicely, then it is ready to go.
Thanks so much
I hope your jelly is gelling well! It is usually runnier when it is hot, and it should thicken as it sits and cools. If it is still runny after sitting, you can try adding a little more pectin (about 1/3 of a package on top of the first package). I've made this one a few times and never had a problem with it, but more pectin will solve a "runny jelly" problem if you are having issues with it! I hope that helps!
I should clarify that you can add 1 1/3 packages of pectin on a second attempt at the jelly if the first one doesn't work out... you can't really add pectin to a finished jelly recipe (for obvious reasons)!
What is this? Candy Apple Jelly, you say... I have to try this, seriously. Grrrreat hub!
Definitely not healthy, but it is fun and tasty! It is also really easy to make!
NOM NOM! I'm keeping this for my recipe box - the kids are gonna love it. Thanks for sharing!
It is really tasty - my older son loves the jelly. I only make it in the fall, so he looks forward to it all year long! I hope you enjoy it!
I love the taste of this jelly and the color is beautiful! The only worry I have is that I canned this 2 days ago and when I pick up the jar and turn it sideways the jelly moves, is that normal? I know the jars are sealed properly, so will the jelly be good? I plan on giving them as christmas gifts. Thanks for the very easy and recipe.
Hi Melanie! This jelly is a tad "runny" and it will move a little if the jar is tilted. The jelly should be fine as long as the jar lid seal is tight. If you have a jar to spare, you could try opening one to see if the jelly is set enough - I made a batch about six weeks ago and it is looser than strawberry jam, but is still definitely jelly (it shouldn't be liquid). I noticed my jelly was on the loose side, but it was fine on toast or in PB&J sandwiches. It is very pretty!
Thanks so much. Great recipe!!!!!
Thanks, Melanie! I hope your friends and family like the gift!
workingmomwm 8 months ago
Wow! Thanks for this! My grandmother used to do a lot of canning. I never knew how. Now I have a better idea. Sounds delicious! :-)