So until I took on this 30-while-30 post, I had never canned anything.  I was rather intimidated by the whole process, mostly because I didn’t understand how it worked.  However, making preserves was enough of an impetus for me to figure it out.  I will caveat this with you absolutely do NOT have to can these preserves – in fact, they are so delicious you likely will finish them in a very short period of time, and therefore not need to can them – however, it’s a really fun treat to pull homemade preserves out of the pantry, say for a tea party with a friendly co-blogger.   It is very, very easy to make your own preserves – basically you just boil fruit with some sugar and voila – preserves. 

When I tackled this process, I figured if I am taking the time to make my own preserves, I would go off the beaten track and make a flavor I couldn’t find at my local grocery purveyor.  Ginger peach preserves sounded just about perfect – particularly because they do not include pectin, and I am still a little intimidated by using pectin.  I cut the amount of sugar in the recipe by over half, and also omitted the allspice because I just didn’t think the recipe really needed it.  It came out absolutely fantastic – the spice of the ginger goes very well with the sweet peaches, and add that little something extra to make this spread stand out.  These preserves happen to go absolutely perfect with Beth’s orange chocolate chip scones.  Try it, you will not be disappointed.  They also go very well with crumpets, english muffins, on vanilla ice cream, and nearly anything else. 

Ginger Peach Preserves

From Mirj via food.com

• 3 lbs peaches
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice

In a pot of boiling water, drop peaches to cook for about 1 minute, or until the skins loosen.  Remove from the boiling water and immediately immerse into a waiting ice bath.  Remove peach skins and chop into small uniform pieces.  Add the peaches, sugar, ginger, and lemon juice to a thick bottomed skillet and cook for about 30 minutes or until the mixture appears thickened.  Cool and enjoy!!

If you plan on canning these preserves – I found this guide to be particularly helpful.  I processed (boiled) mine for 15 minutes in the jars.  Good luck!

With Christmas approaching, I have been searching for a good ginger cookie recipe. Gingerbread is an essential element of Christmas baking, and I wanted to find a cookie that embodies that flavor. My friend Carolyn provided me with this delicious ginger cookie recipe that I will now be adding to my holiday baking rotation.

These ginger cookies are quite easy to make. When I first dropped the balls of dough on the cookie sheet, I wondered how they could possibly end up flat. Since the cookies flatten out quite a bit during baking, it’s good to leave about 2 inches between the balls of dough. The cookies are quite soft when they first come out of the oven, so it helps to leave them on the cookie sheet to cool for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

The consistency of the resulting cookie is perfect. It’s crisp, but not crunchy. The top of the cookie is beautifully crackled, but the inside is still somewhat soft.

Ginger Cookies

Yields 4 dozen cookies

1 cup sugar
3/4 cup shortening
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup molasses
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and spices. Set aside.
3. In an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the sugar and shortening on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in the egg and molasses and vanilla.
4. Mix in the dry ingredients.
5. Roll dough into tsp-sized round balls.
6. Roll dough balls in sugar.
7. Place dough balls on cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.