Blueberry Jam

This recipe won a Second Place ribbon at the 2012 Tillamook County Fair.  I used frozen berries from my freezer to make these.  You can use fresh or frozen.  If frozen - they need to thaw.

Blueberry Jam

3 3/4 cups crushed blueberries
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 cup water
6 cups sugar
1 box MCP pectin (it's my favorite brand)

Before you start - make sure your jars are clean.  Put lids in saucepan with water and turn on low.  You want them hot - but not boiling.

Measure exact amount of fruit.  Place in 6-8 quart pot.  Stir in lemon juice and water.  Measure exact amount of sugar into separate bowl.  Set aside.
Stir pectin into fruit.  Bring mixture to a full rolling boil.  (A boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat - stir constantly.
Stir in sugar quickly.  Return to a full rolling boil and Boil 4 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Skim off any foam.  Ladle quickly into prepared jars.  Wipe rims, add lids and bands.  Process in water bath - making sure jars are covered with water.  Process for 10 minutes.
Next day - remove bands and wash jars and bands.  Label jars.

Lemon Berry Freezer Jam

Oh my goodness gracious! This recipe was so easy to make. The waiting for the berries to thaw was almost too much! I found it a great way to use berries that were still in my freezer from last summer. (gasp!) This recipe is part of the June 2010 Aussie/NZ recipe swap. My teammate is Mom2Rose from Michigan. The lemon zest adds a wonderful dimension to this yummy jam. What a great idea for teachers at the end of the school year with a loaf of bread! That's what I am going to do for 2 teachers tomorrow.

Lemon Berry Freezer Jam
1 (1 5/8 oz) package freezer jam pectin - it comes in a pouch not a box
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 cups measured crushed berries (I used strawberry, raspberry, blueberry and blackberry. Any combination would work just fine.)
Zest of 1 large lemon (I finally got to use my zester I bought from Pampered Chef!)

In a medium bowl, combine 4 cups measured crushed berries with pectin, sugar and lemon zest. Stir for 3 minutes. I like to let it sit for about 30 minutes and come back to stir every 5 minutes or so just to make sure the pectin and sugar are well distributed. Serve at once if desired. For longer storage, ladle into clean freezer jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Let stand until thickened - about 30 minutes. Put jars in freezer. Yields 5 8-oz jars.

Golden Coconut Crisps

These little gems come from the "joey" I got to adopt in the August Aussie/NZ recipe swap. My "joey" had to be someone from either New Zealand or Australia. I picked Jacqui from Oz. She lives in Australia. It's interesting to read ingredients from other countries. I will post her original and what it means to us in the USA! These are so yummy by the way.

Golden Coconut Crisps ( a very yummy cookie)
1 1/2 cups self rising flour (if you don't have self rising flour - use 1 1/2 cups all purpose and add 1/4 tsp salt and 1 tsp baking powder. this is what I did.)
1 tsp cinnamon
5 oz butter or margarine ( I used 1 stick - it's close enough)
1 cup coconut
1/2 cup caster sugar (granulated sugar)
1 TBSP golden syrup (corn syrup)
favorite jam

Combine flour, cinnamon coconut and sugar in large bowl. Melt butter and corn syrup together. Add to dry ingredients and mix well. Roll dough into balls, flatten out on cookie sheet and make hollows in the center. Fill hollows with jam. (not much jam is required)
Bake in 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes. Or until the bottoms are a light brown.

Strawberry Nut Rolls /with variations

Peach Nut Rolls - my creation
Cinnamon Rolls - an adaptation from the cinnamon roll recipe I already make.

This recipe comes from recipezaar. RecipeNut posted it. I didn't use all her recipe - I adjusted it a bit. However - she does get the credit for such as tasty, tasty roll. I used my cinnamon roll recipe dough with her filling and frosting. I dare you to eat just one. The smell while they were baking was heavenly! :)

**A side note - this recipe makes 24 rolls. The dough can be cut in half. If you choose to make a smaller amount - still use the 1 egg.

Strawberry Nut Rolls
Dough:
2 TBSP yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups lukewarm milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/4 tsp nutmeg
5-6 cups flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in milk, sugar, oil, baking powder, salt, egg and 2-3 cups flour and nutmeg. Beat until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle. (This means soft but not sticky.) Knead until smooth. Let rise in a greased bowl - turning dough once - until double. About 1 hour. Grease 2 9x13 pans. Roll dough into a gigantic rectangle. (I choose to do it this way so I don't have to repeat myself.)

Strawberry Filling:
6 TBSP butter or margarine, softened
2/3 cup strawberry jam (you can use something different if you want to.)
1 TBSP sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Peach Filling:

6 TBSP butter or margarine, softened

2/3 cup peach jam

1 TBSP sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Cinnamon Roll Filling:

6 TBSP butter or margarine, softened

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 - 3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Spread butter over the dough you just rolled out. Spread jam over the butter. You might need to add more jam. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together. Sprinkle over the jam. (If you are like me and have cinnamon sugar already mixed up - go ahead and just use that.)

For the cinnamon roll filling - spread butter over the dough. Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Spread over butter. Sprinkle nuts over the sugar.

Roll the dough from long side to long side. With a piece of string - slice this very long log into 24 sections. Place 12 rolls in each 9x13 pan. Let rise for an additional 30 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees for about 20-25 minutes. Until golden brown - not burnt. :)

Frosting:
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1-2 TBSP milk
1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix well. RecipeNut's recipe says let the rolls cool then frost. I only waited about 10 minutes then frosted mine. Partly because I wanted to see how the frosting stood up to the "heat" test. I was surprised. It didn't melt all over like other glazes have been known too. Therefore - you can choose how hot/cold you want your rolls to be before frosting them.

Now you can feed the restless natives - oops - I mean kids. DS#1 really liked them. DS#2 said "Thanks so much Mom for making these! They were so yummy!" DS#3 gave a thumbs up. DS#4 didn't say anything. Which is a good thing.
I did share with the neighbors as well since it is the husband's birthday. He is 81 years old today. Unfortunately his wife probably didn't remember as she has Alzheimers and is rapidly digressing in her memory.