Awesome Hot Pepper Jelly

I’m on a roll making all kinds of hot pepper jelly. This one is bright red and a really good tasting topper on cream cheese and a Ritz cracker. 

2 red bell peppers
6 RED jalapeño peppers
1 habanero pepper, optional
1 ½ cups plain cranberry juice (not cranberry cocktail)
6 cups sugar
2 envelopes Certo, or 1 box Sure-Jell (I prefer Sure-Jell)
6 or so, drops of red food coloring, optional

Bring a large pot (canner is best) of water to boil. Carefully drop the jelly jars in the water and boil for about 10 minutes to sterilize. Remove and turn upside down to drain. Add the sealing lids to the water to sterilize, but not melt the rubber ring. Remove from water right before filling the jelly jars, wiping off any water from the inside of the sealing lid. 

Remove stems and seeds from bell peppers. Grind in a mini-food processor until liquified. (You need ¾ cup or so). Put in heavy saucepan. Remove the stems and seeds from the hot chilies. You can leave some seeds in if you want it hotter. Grind hot chilies the same way and add to the bell peppers in the saucepan.  

Add juice and sugar. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring often. Boil for one minute. Add the pectin (Certo or Sure-Jell), stirring well. Bring back to a full rolling boil, and boil for one minute. Remove from heat. Skim foam off with a metal spoon. Ladle into hot sterilized jars. Wipe the rim off with a clean damp dishcloth. Wipe the water off the lids that were also sterilized, and place on the jar. Carefully screw on the metal ring tightly. Place in boiling water, with at least 2” of water above the jars. (Do not put the jars directly on the bottom of the large pot, if you do not have a canning pot with a removable metal rack, put some pot holders in the bottom of the pot to cushion the jars. 

Bring the water to a boil and process the jars of jelly for 10 minutes. Remove and let them cool off and set up. I put them on a placemat to cushion the jars. Let the jars set-up without moving, overnight. 

PINEAPPLE PEPPER JELLY

Use the same recipe, replacing red bell peppers with yellow, and replacing cranberry juice with pineapple juice. I would not liquify the peppers, but rather chop them finely in the food processor. It looks real nice to see the flecks of color in the jelly. 

I would also add a can of drained crushed pineapple (maybe even two cans) to the peppers. The yellow and red flecks make this very appealing.