How To Make The Best Cowboy Candy Canning Recipe Donna Larson, December 15, 2023 Look no further for the best Cowboy Candy Canning Recipe. It’s simple, it’s scrumptious, and it works in many dishes. Let’s look at how you can easily make and use this tasty treat. Jump to Cowboy Candy Canning Recipe Cowboy Candy Canning Cowboy candy, also known as Candied Jalapenos, is a condiment made with the perfect combination of spicy peppers, tangy vinegar, and a sweet sugary syrup. It’s an answer to the bumper crops of jalapenos coming in to harvest in homestead kitchens across the Southern United States. The popularity of cowboy candy has grown over the years, becoming a beloved homemade treat and a staple at farmer’s markets and local food shops across the region. Its sweet and spicy taste makes it a versatile ingredient that can be used in various recipes or enjoyed as a flavorful snack. Candied Jalapeños, a Spicy Treat or Too Hot to Handle? Maybe you’re wondering exactly how hot is this cowboy candy? Well, as the name says, it’s typically made with jalapeno peppers. However, you can make this as hot or mild as you like. The Best Cowboy Candy Canning Recipe Here’s how you can make the best cowboy candy canning recipe at home. Ingredients 5 pounds of Jalapenos 2 cups of apple cider vinegar 4 cups white sugar 2 teaspoons of salt Instructions First, slice and chop jalapenos. Remove membranes and seeds if you’d like. I like to leave some seeds in for heat, and they’re just pretty in the jar. Second, make your brine by pouring vinegar, sugar, and salt into a stock pot. Stir well as sugar and salt dissolve. Bring to a full rolling boil, continuing to stir. Third, add sliced jalapenos, and bring back to a boil for 5 minutes. That’s it. Three easy steps. The easiest cowboy candy recipe in the world, and you can eat it right away. You can jump ahead for the instructions on canning your cowboy candy for shelf stability. Can I Use Other Peppers to Make This Cowboy Candy Canning Recipe? Absolutely. We like to use a mix of hot peppers and sweet peppers. If you want a very mild cowboy candy, try using a mix of Notapenos, the cousin-hybrid to jalapenos. You can tweak the heat by adjusting the ratio of hot to sweet peppers in your own recipe. Make it Your Own Make this your own recipe that you will love to make and remake. Use any kind of peppers you like: hot, mild, sweet, or bell peppers. Sometimes we use poblanos. Additionally, you can add other seasonings such as turmeric, chili powder, or mustard seeds. Also, you can swap out the apple cider vinegar if you don’t care for the taste and use white vinegar. As a result, you’ll get a less fruity, more tangy flavor. DO NOT REDUCE THE SUGAR. The amount of sugar in the brine should always be a 2:1 ratio of sugar to vinegar. This helps make it safe to keep it on the shelf. Helpful Tips For Cowboy Candy Canning Recipe Most importantly, wear gloves to protect your hands while chopping hot peppers. I like to use a food processor to help with this step too, but that certainly isn’t necessary. A sharp knife will get the job done. A combination of chopped and sliced peppers makes the best cowboy candy, thus different sized pieces appear in your jar. The prettiest jars are those made with some jalapenos that were allowed to ripen to red instead of seeing an entire jar of chopped, green peppers. The mix of red and green makes for a beautiful homemade Christmas gift. Likewise, you can add yellow banana peppers or orange sweet peppers too just for fun. Certainly, cook your cowboy candy in a well-ventilated space because the spicy brine can hit you just right in the lungs in an unpleasing way. Use a heavy-bottomed stock pot to avoid scorching your batch of cowboy candy. Sugar easily burns on the bottom of thin pots. How to Serve Cowboy Candy The most popular way to enjoy cowboy candy is to top a cracker with cream cheese and then add your candied jalapenos. While that’s delicious, let’s get little more adventurous in the kitchen, shall we? How about we smoke that cream cheese in a dish with the cowboy candy on top and then serve it as a dip. Here are some other favorite ways that we enjoy our cowboy candy canning recipe: add it to potato salad for a spicy kick top your deviled eggs with it add it to macaroni salads top a sausage dog with cowboy candy instead of plain spicy jalapeno slices add it to corn bread batter before baking top your favorite chili with some candied jalapenos add some into your favorite bread and butter pickles recipe Instructions for Canning Cowboy Candy Cowboy Candy is super simple to can for shelf stability. Follow these instructions after you’ve made a batch of cowboy candy. Gather Supplies Grab your sterile canning jars. I like to use quarter pint or half pint jars for condiments like cowboy candy. two-piece lids canning tongs / jar lifter hot water bath canner canning funnel debubbler tool clean, damp paper towel How to Can Cowboy Candy (Candied Jalapenos) While your cowboy candy is still hot, use a slotted spoon to scoop the peppers out of the brine and place them into your jars. Your canning funnel will help you get the contents into the jars neatly. Now scoop out the hot, sweet syrup brine with a ladle or measuring cup and pour it over the peppers into the jars. This will leave you with some leftover brine in the pot, but that’s okay. This is the best way to get jars filled with peppers. Don’t pour brine to the top of the jar. Make sure that you leave about a 1/2 inch headspace in your jars. After your jars are filled, Use your debubbler tool to remove any air pockets from the jar. Carefully wipe the rims of the jars with your clean, damp paper towel. Next, add the two-piece lids (flats and rings), making sure to screw the rings on finger tight. Place jars into the hot water bath canner and add enough water to cover them with at least two inches of water. Bring the entire pot to a full rolling boil, and process. (1/4 pint or 1/2 pint jars at <10,000′ altitude should boil for 10 minutes. Check your proper processing time for your size jars and location.) Turn off heat and allow the pot to cool for a few minutes. Use your jar lifter to remove jars, and leave to set on the counter undisturbed for at least 12-24 hours. Last, remove rings, and gently wipe off jars. Check to make sure your jars all properly sealed. Don’t forget to label them with the date, and store them in a cool, dark place. How Long Does Cowboy Candy Last? When it’s fresh, not canned, cowboy candy can last up to two months in the refrigerator. Your canned cowboy candy should last for at least a year on the shelf if stored in optimal conditions. What to Do With the Leftover Syrup From Candied Jalapeños? You can store the syrupy brine from the cowboy candy canning recipe in the refrigerator for up to two months. You can reuse it with another batch if you’d like to make more. You’ll find that as you scoop out the peppers from your jars, you’ll be left with syrup. You can add this to any number of sweet and spicy soups or chilis. For example, itt makes a fun addition to margaritas or used in your cornbread batter. A good friend just recently used it as an implement in her sourdough loaf with jalapenos and cheddar. Definitely get creative instead of tossing the leftovers. Can I Use Frozen Jalapenos in My Cowboy Candy Canning Recipe? Yes, I often do. Peppers generally freeze well so that you can thaw and use them in a recipe where they’ll be cooked. If you have too many peppers to deal with during the harvest season, feel free to freeze them until you have time to use them later. Just wash, pat dry, chop, and flash freeze them first on a cooking sheet. Once they’re frozen, you can scoop them up and add them to a ziplock freezer back or vacuum seal them to use later. Final Thoughts on The Best Cowboy Candy Canning Recipe Finally, we hope that you thoroughly enjoy using up your jalapenos and other peppers in this recipe. You can make one large batch every year, and the end result is that you’ll have enough for your own shelf, and extras to gift to friends and family. A jar of cowboy candy is always a welcome addition to charcuterie boards and appetizers at dinner parties. Happy Canning! Donna @ Hazel Belle Farm Donna and her family have been homesteading for most of their 20+ years together in some shape or fashion. She currently lives on their 20 acre farm where they grow as much food as possible. What started as a just a few laying hens, has grown into large gardens, pastured poultry, pork, and lamb. They are continuously evolving their small farm to not suit their family’s needs, but also providing to their local community. Donna’s favorite part of the family farm is her self-built micro-dairy, where she gets to love on dairy cows while serving her local community. Milking, cheesemaking, and processing dairy have become the soul of their homestead and the center of their farm. If you liked this post, then you’ll probably like this one too! Homestead Kitchen Homesteading Preserving the Harvest