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Jam - A Fun and Versatile Food!
by Alice Osborne
  Jam, homemade preserves, and jelly—have you ever thought of the many ways you can use these delicious foods? Because of the high sugar content, they can easily be substituted for sugar in many recipes. And because of their distinct flavors, they’re often used in marinades or glazes for meat and chicken. Here are a few wonderful recipes we’ve discovered that take this delight to new heights:
Cherry Muffins
Courtesy Tropical Traditions
 Expeller pressed coconut oil for greasing pan
2 cups freshly ground white wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoons Himalayan salt
1 cup sour cream
1 egg
1 tablespoon coconut cream concentrate, thinned with water to about 2-4 TBSP
1 (9 oz) jar cherry jam
Heat oven to 350°. Grease muffin pan with expeller pressed coconut oil. Mix dry ingredients together in large bowl. Stir together wet ingredients in medium bowl. Stir wet ingredients into dry.
Pour half muffin batter into muffin cups. Top each with 1 tablespoon jam - should use whole jar. Top with rest of batter. Bake until puffed and cooked through, about 20-30 minutes. Yumm!
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Kentucky Jam Cake
There are literally dozens of recipes in books and on the Internet for this cake. Grandma’s caught our fancy because of the crushed pineapple.
 1 cup raisins
1 can crushed pineapple (8 ounces), undrained
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
5 large eggs
1 cup seedless blackberry jam
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 cup chopped pecans
confectioners' sugar
Combine raisins and crushed pineapple in a small bowl; refrigerate and let soak for several hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour a 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Into a bowl, sift flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Cream shortening and butter or margarine in large bowl with an electric hand-held mixer. Gradually beat in sugar; beat until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; blend in jam. Alternately add sifted dry ingredients and buttermilk to the creamed mixture, ending with dry ingredients. Blend in pineapple, raisins and chopped pecans.
Pour batter into prepared 13x9x2-inch pan. Bake jam cake at 350° for 55 to 60 minutes, until cake tests done. Dust Kentucky jam cake with confectioners' sugar and cut in squares.
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Chunky Raspberry Applesauce
Courtesy Smucker’s
 4 apples, peeled, cored, quartered
3/4 cup raspberry or raspberry blend juice
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
6 tablespoons Smucker's® Red Raspberry Preserves
COMBINE apples, raspberry juice and cinnamon in medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until apples are tender when pierced with a fork.
MELT preserves in a small saucepan or microwave in a small bowl. Strain to remove seeds; set aside.
BEAT apple mixture lightly with electric mixer to form a chunky sauce. Stir in preserves. Serve warm, or cover and refrigerate until serving time.
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Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich Cookies
Courtesy Smucker’s
 1/2 cup Smucker's® Creamy Natural Peanut Butter, stirred
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup honey
1 large egg
2 cups Pillsbury BEST® All Purpose Flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 cups Smucker's® Strawberry Jelly
OR Smucker's® Concord Grape Jelly
MIX peanut butter, brown sugar, butter, honey and egg in large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, salt and baking powder; add to the peanut butter mixture and mix well. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions. Wrap each portion in plastic wrap or waxed paper and refrigerate 2 hours or overnight.
REMOVE portions from refrigerator and place each portion between 2 sheets of plastic wrap or waxed paper. Roll each portion into a “sheet” about 1/8-inch thick (refrigerate dough again if it becomes too soft to handle.)
HEAT oven to 350ºF. Using a drinking glass or cookie cutter, cut the dough into circles. Using a smaller drinking glass or cookie cutter, cut smaller circles or “windows” in the center of half of the circles. Transfer cookies to a nonstick baking sheet, leaving 1/2 inch between them.
BAKE all cookies 5 to 6 minutes or just until they begin to brown. Using a spatula, transfer the cookies to a cooling rack. When cookies have cooled, spread the jelly on the plain cookies and top with the “window” cookies. Makes 4 dozen.
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Strawberry-Glazed Ham
Courtesy Smucker’s
 1 (5 to 7 lb.) fully cooked smoked butt or shank-half ham
1 1/2 cups Smucker's® Strawberry Preserves
1/3 cup prepared mustard
1/4 cup lemon juice
HEAT oven to 325°F. Score fat surface of ham with sharp knife, making uniform diagonal cuts about 1/8-inch deep and 3/4-inch apart.
PLACE ham fat side up on rack in shallow roasting pan; bake 1 1/4 to 2 1/4 hours.
COMBINE preserves, mustard and lemon juice in small saucepan; cook over low heat, stirring until blended.
BRUSH ham with about 1/2 cup glaze during last 20 minutes of baking time. Let ham stand 10 minutes for easier slicing. Heat remaining glaze and serve as a sauce for the ham. Serves 8 – 10.
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