SO… this is just a little bit of a cheater recipe.
I took the strawberry-red wine jam used in those really nice Strawberry Cookie Bars back in October, swapped out a nice bit of port for the red wine, and just made the jam.
Of course, then I took the jam, used the same, basic (and pretty fantastic) sugar cookie dough recipe, and combined it all into a nice batch o’ thumbprint cookies, so, double cheater; but still pretty darned good.
INGREDIENTS
•1 lb strawberries (about 3 cups), chopped
•1/2 cup port
•1/4 cup sugar
•1/2 tsp vanilla
– I plan on trying lemon juice next time
The method is simple as can be, and the finished jam is more than nice enough to grace your breakfast table (or to add to a holiday gift basket).
Add the strawberries, port, sugar, and vanilla to an 8 inch skillet (I used my stir-fry pan) and heat to boiling.
Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring, for five minutes, until the mixture has thickened up a bit, then press the berries with the back of your wooden spoon to crush them a bit and smooth out the jam – tho’ you will still have goodly sized chunks o’ berries.
That’s all there is to it!
Let the jam cook and stash in a jar in the fridge. I haven’t tried canning strawberry jam, but if you’re interested, ladle the hot jam into hot, sterilized jars, and process for 15 minutes in a boiling water bath.
No baths were need for this jam, tho’ – these were destined for cookies, and a fine and tasty batch it was! As I mentioned above, these cookies use my basic g0-to cookie dough, but if you want methods and baking times, check out this post.