Cowboy Candy

by Savannah Ray

Total 45 minutes

A vibrant display of freshly sliced yellow and green peppers from the garden, ready for some amazing Cowboy Candy.

Makes 12 servings

Texas Cowboy Candy is definitely one of our favorite summertime treats. When the garden is overflowing with peppers and we want to make sure none go to waste, we turn them into Cowboy Candy—candied jalapeños and other peppers. This sweet and spicy combination is the perfect way to preserve the harvest and add a kick to just about anything. It’s delicious on burgers, sandwiches, nachos, over cream cheese, or however else you can imagine.

Ingredients

2 pounds fresh jalapeños/banana peppers (about 40-50 peppers)

1 cup apple cider vinegar

3 cups organic cane sugar

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoons yellow mustard seeds

¼ teaspoon ground turmeric

Directions

1. Remove and discard pepper stems, then cut peppers into 1/4-inch slices. Set pepper slices aside.

2. Bring to a boil apple cider vinegar, cane sugar, garlic powder, turmeric, and yellow mustard seed in a big saucepan. Reduce heat to around medium-low and simmer for five minutes.

3. Raise the heat to roughly medium-high to re-boil the mixture. Once it is boiling, add pepper slices. Allow it to bring to a boil, then decrease the heat to medium-low and simmer for four minutes.

4. Transfer the peppers to clean glass canning jars using a slotted spoon, filling the jars to within 1/4 inch of the top.

5. Only the syrup should remain in the saucepan. Raise the heat to bring the liquid to a rolling boil. Continue to boil for about six minutes.

6. Pour the syrup over the pepper slices in the jars. Fill jars to within 1/4 to 1/2 inch of the top rim.

7. Wipe the jars’ rims with a damp paper towel, and then screw on the lids of the canning jars. If desired, label and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 to 2 weeks (3-4 weeks for optimal flavor). If properly refrigerated, your cowboy candy has a shelf life of up to three months.