Fall Caramel Apple Jam (Printable)
Autumn spread of apples, caramel, and warm spices—ideal on toast, in oatmeal, or for gifting.
# What You'll Need:
→ Fruit
01 - 6 cups peeled, cored, and finely chopped apples (approximately 6 medium Honeycrisp or Granny Smith apples)
02 - 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
→ Caramel Base
03 - 2 cups granulated sugar
04 - 1 cup packed light brown sugar
05 - 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes
→ Spices & Thickener
06 - 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
07 - 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
08 - 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
09 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
10 - 1 pouch (3 ounces) liquid pectin
→ Liquids
11 - 1/2 cup apple cider or apple juice
12 - 1/4 cup water
# Directions:
01 - In a large heavy-bottomed pot, combine chopped apples, lemon juice, apple cider, and water. Bring mixture to a simmer over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes until apples are tender.
02 - Using a potato masher or immersion blender, lightly mash apples, leaving some small chunks for a textured finish.
03 - Add granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and salt. Stir until sugars are dissolved completely.
04 - Stir in cubed butter. Continue to cook on medium heat, stirring frequently and scraping the pot bottom, until mixture thickens and develops a golden caramel color, about 20 to 25 minutes.
05 - Increase heat to bring mixture to a boil. Add liquid pectin, stir thoroughly, and boil hard for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
06 - If needed, skim off any surface foam. Carefully ladle hot jam into sterilized canning jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Wipe rims, apply lids, and process jars in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude as necessary.
07 - Allow jars to cool fully at room temperature. Store jars in a cool, dark location. Refrigerate once opened.
# Cooking Tips:
01 -
- Making this jam fills your kitchen with all those dreamy fall bakery smells you wish lasted all year.
- It doubles as a decadent topping, a cozy gift, or a not-so-secret ingredient for last minute baking adventures.
02 -
- If you skip constant stirring once the sugars are in, you'll end up with scorched jam and a stubborn pot to scrub.
- Letting the butter gently melt instead of rushing it produced a jam so silky I almost wanted to eat it by the spoonful, hot.
03 -
- Layering apples with lemon juice before heat helps both texture and color, so don’t skip the prep.
- If you want a deeper caramel, caramelize the sugars separately and then add them to your apples—just watch closely, as sugar turns from perfect to burnt in seconds.