Christmas Jam

Homemade Christmas jam recipe packed with cranberries and strawberries, along with warm spices and slowly cooked to perfection in a crockpot. Amazing sweet-tart blend for the holiday season.

Homemade jam with a slice of toast on a Christmas morning, with a cup of warm tea, while the whole family is still sleeping. There is something special in that moment. Also, gift giving when you are gifting something homemade, hits differently.

This cranberry strawberry jam recipe, also known as Amish Christmas jam, is my take on making it in a slow cooker.

To finally feel Christmas in the air and get the cozy feeling, let’s make some homemade jam!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• A generous 54 oz batch of delicious jam, completely homemade!
• Minimal prep time – barely 10 minutes and the slow cooker does all the heavy lifting. Hands-off recipe, super beginner-friendly. Much easier than a traditional canning recipe, as you won’t have to boil jars or lids, and yet tastes amazing.
• 7 ingredients, all simple and affordable, and no pectin is needed.
• The perfect recipe to make edible Christmas gifts.

Ingredients Notes

• Frozen cranberries. If you love cranberry flavor, you can add more cranberries and less sugar. Cranberries also naturally have pectin in them, so I don’t add any more fruit pectin to the mixture.
• Frozen whole strawberries
• Sugar mix: granulated sugar + light brown sugar. You can easily skip white sugar altogether and use only brown sugar to make this jam.
• Holiday spices: ground allspice, ground cinnamon, and ground ginger. While I think the spiced Christmas jam is delicious, you can swap the spices or completely skip them, it is up to you.

Kitchen Equipment

• 6-quart crockpot
• jam jars
• blender or food processor. An immersion blender would be the best and easiest way to pulse the hot mixture.

How To Make Christmas Jam Recipe

1: Cook The Jam

1. Combine the cranberries and strawberries, granulated sugar, brown sugar, allspice, cinnamon, and ground ginger in the slow cooker insert. Stir to incorporate.
2. Cover and hook on high for 4 hours. Be sure to stir at least once, halfway throughout the cooking process so that the fruit doesn’t stick to the pot.

2: Blend It

Carefully transfer the hot jam to a blender. Pulse quickly 2 times – you shouldn’t need more than this to blend. The consistency should be rather thin.

3: Divide Between Jars

1. Ladle the jam into sterile mason jars. Make sure there is no air bubbles and clean up the jar rims with a damp cloth. Add the lids – finger tight.
2. Let the jam sit at room temperature and allow it to cool completely. Retighten the lids – they might need an extra quarter turn or more before storing.
3. Chill overnight before using.
4. Keep refrigerated.

How To Use Spiced Christmas Jam?

Apart from just enjoying it straight from the jar, there are many ways to enjoy Christmas jam:

• Spread it over toast, biscuits, puff pastry, or pancakes. It pairs fantastically with fresh bread.
• Christmas jam goes with anything with cream cheese or soft and semi-hard cheeses like brie.
• Add it inside the turnovers or on the thumbprint cookies
• Make tarts
• Use Christmas jam with roasted meats as a glaze for the Christmas Eve dinner. In general, this jam is an amazing substitute for cranberry sauce in any recipe.
• Incorporate Christmas jam into gift boxes or charcuterie boards. Decorate the jars with some ribbons.

Storage

This is a refrigerator jam. If the jars haven’t been opened, they will last about 3 weeks in the fridge. If opened, consume within 10 days. Do not freeze.

Substitutions & Variations

• You can use fresh strawberries and fresh cranberries for a thicker jam. The water content in the frozen berries yields a thinner jam. Fresh berries will make a thick consistency (back of a wooden spoon test).
• To make shelf-stable jars of jam, you need to bring water to a full rolling boil and boil the jars for 10 minutes. Pour the jam into the sterilized jars, but not till the brim. Leave at least ¼ inch of space on top. Clean up the rims and screw the lid tightly. This process will ensure proper sealing and long-lasting jam. Store in a cool, dark place, for up to 18 months.
• For more flavor, add orange juice or lemon juice, orange zest, or vanilla extract. Adding apples also makes tart jam and helps to bulk it up. Nutmeg is a popular spice add-on as well, but not everyone loves it.
• Stovetop recipe: bring all the ingredients to a rolling boil in a large pot and let it boil for 1 minute. Remove from the stove. Add pectin, stir, and boil for another minute. Reduce the heat and keep simmering, stirring occasionally, for another 10 to 15 minutes. Sterilize the jars in a boiling water bath in a separate pot, pulse the jam, and divide it between jars.
• You can use fruit pectin to thicken the jam. It can be powdered or liquid pectin, both work in this delicious recipe. If you are using fresh cranberries and strawberries, you probably won’t need extra thickening agents, but frozen fruit gives a thinner consistency, so you can add some pectin.
• Try adding an orange peel for garnish or add it to the fruit mixture.
• You can swap the juice for a different flavor – try using apple juice.
• If you like a chunkier jam or don’t have a blender, you can use a potato masher.
• For a festive touch, tie a cinnamon stick to the glass jars when giving this delicious treat as a unique gift.
• Serve this along with your holiday charcuterie board.

Expert Tips To Make The Best Jam For Christmas

• Jarring the jam while hot and letting it cool slowly on the counter allows it to gain a tight seal on the jar without having to go through the water bath process. 
• You can use any type of sealed jar you prefer.
• Please only pulse the mixture twice. Any more than that and it will be the consistency of apple butter – which is fine if that is what you want. But if you like to have small pieces of fruit remaining, similar to preserves, then limit the pulsing.
• You can also pulse strawberries and cranberries before cooking them if using fresh fruit. Then you proceed the same way – cooking the mixture over medium-high heat.
• Use caution when blending hot liquids. Sometimes it can spatter. The same applies to hot jars – wear oven mitts while handling them.
• If you see any foam forming on top, you can skim it.
• If using an instant-read thermometer to boil the jam, aim for 220 degrees F.
• If using fresh cranberries and strawberries, make sure to soak them and wash them thoroughly.

Popular Questions

What Is The Secret Ingredient In Christmas Jam?

Warm spices are the secret ingredient that makes Christmas jam so aromatic and delicious. Adding orange juice and zest also brings the flavor to another level, lightens it up, and adds sweet, tart, and citrusy touches to the jam.

What Not To Do When Making Jam?

When making jam, do not over-blend the mixture. If you want to store your jam on the counter you also should never skip the sterilization process for the jars to make sure there are no bacteria growing inside.

Is Jam Better With Or Without Pectin?

The jam will be thicker with pectin, but using it is completely optional. Fresh fruits naturally make thicker jams, while cranberries and apples, like many other fruits, contain pectin already.

What Makes Homemade Jam Thick?

Using fresh berries or fruit or adding pectin will make a thicker homemade jam. Frozen strawberries and fruit have more water content and make thinner jam.

If you love this easy food gift idea recipe, you’re going to love these other recipes that make great gifts for Christmas too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!

More Great Jam Recipes

3-Ingredient Blackberry Jam

No Pectin Strawberry Jam

Cinnamon Peach Jam

Huckleberry Jam {Ready in 10 Minutes}

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