Apple Maple Drizzle

My family & I harvested 70 pounds of apples on Sunday. That’s right; SEVENTY POUNDS! After two days in the kitchen, I feel like I could peel, core and chop in my sleep. So far I’ve processed over half the haul, making not only Apple Butter and Applesauce but today’s recipe: Apple Maple Drizzle.

If you would like to lick the screen, I do not blame you. This is truly one of the most delicious things ever to come out of my kitchen. Imagine a crustless maple-infused apple pie spooned over your ice cream, yogurt, cake, crepes, pancakes, waffles and/or french toast. How about a tender pork chop or juicy grilled chicken breast dressed up with a little dazzle of drizzle? Oh my.

You might remember a post from last year, entitled Maple Apple Drizzle? No? Well, last September while visiting Vermont for our anniversary weekend, we purchased a small jar of heaven, a concoction of apples and spices and maple called Maple Apple Drizzle. I have thought about that jar of drizzle many times since it was finished, and with this year’s APPLE SURPLUS, decided to try my hand at something similar. I found a recipe in an old Ball Blue Book which I adapted slightly to get rid of more apples increase the number of apples. Technically this drizzle should have been jam, but darned if I could get the stuff to gel! I boiled and boiled, and in the end tried adding pectin, but nope. Oh well. The way this stuff tastes, no one in their right mind will care. It is heavenly.

Yields 10- 8-oz. jars.

SODIUM CONTENT: 4 mg per jar; scant trace per serving

INGREDIENTS:

4 quarts (16 c.) chopped apples (peeled and cored)
6 c. sugar
1 c. pure maple syrup
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground allspice
1/2 t. ground nutmeg
1/4 t. ground cloves

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all ingredients in a large stockpot over medium-low. Slowly bring to a boil.

Once mixture begins to boil, raise heat and cook rapidly to gelling point. As mixture thickens, stir frequently to prevent sticking.

Remove from heat. Ladle hot jelly into prepared hot jars, leaving 1/4″ head space. Adjust 2 piece caps and screw tightly. Process for 10 minutes in a hot water bath. Remove from water and set aside to stand for 24 hours. Check seals. Any that haven’t popped down, discard.