Hot Pepper Jelly

So remember those peppers I mentioned before?

The ones that are producing way faster than I can use them?

Today I decided to try a new Hot Pepper Jelly (HPJ) recipe.  I am a huge fan of HPJ over cream cheese served with crackers.  It's a very easy, yet delicious, appetizer.  With the holidays coming up, I wanted to make sure I had a good stash in the pantry (and also, I'm not convinced we're growing the Jalapenos next year, so just in case I need to make as much as I can!)

The last batch I made called for only jalapenos and liquid pectin.  It gelled up almost too well, and it was mostly sweet, there was no kick AT ALL to it, so I knew it wasn't going to be my 'go-to' recipe.
I found THIS RECIPE this morning and decided to go for it, since it called for the boxed pectin AND a variety of peppers (I think the red and green will be really festive for Christmas.)

I don't know what I was thinking, but I decided to chop them all by hand.  Next time, remind me to throw them in the food processor.  If you're doing this at home, make sure you wear gloves.  Those peppers can leave lasting side effects if you don't (it's a mistake I only made once and never again since!)

I ended up using a little less than 3 cups of chopped jalapenos, two chopped cayenne, and about 1 cup of chopped red pepper.  I seeded them, too, because I figured it would be hot enough as it is with the cayenne.

Add 1 cup of cider vinegar in a large sauce pan, along with a box of pectin.

Bring to a rapid boil over high heat, stirring constantly.

Add in 5 cups of sugar and return to a boil.  Let it go for one minute, then remove from heat.

Place in jars and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack.  (Check to make sure they've sealed and all that good stuff.)

All of the peppers will float to the top, which is fine by me.  But I'd read that if you turn the jars every 20 minutes or so while they cool, the peppers will be more evenly distributed.  So I decided to give it a whirl.

This batch definitely has a kick to it, but that's MY opinion and I don't really like spicy things.  It isn't too hot, though, so I think this recipe might be a keeper.