This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Holiday Jam ~ an unforgettable combination of cranberries, raspberries, and pears with a touch of orange juice and warm spices, finished with a happy splash of Grand Marnier!
This quick & easy freezer jam recipe will thrill both you and your guests. Dressed up in a pretty jar, this delicious jam makes a wonderful gift!
First, I’m so excited to bring this recipe to you today – especially just in time for the holidays!
Have you ever thought you’d like to make jam but don’t think you have the time? This jam is the answer because it comes together in minutes. With just a little prep time for the fruit, and five minutes of cooking, this jam is set to eat, share or freeze, for up to a year!
Make the most out of our last few days of cranberries and stir up a pot of this amazing jam. This Holiday Jam can be made with frozen cranberries and frozen raspberries but I used fresh.
This recipe uses 1 box of SURE-JELL for Less or No Sugar Needed Fruit Pectin.
I’ve often made jams with only fruit and sugar but let me tell you why I love this recipe made with pectin. When you cook fruit and sugar for a long time, it breaks down and creates pectin which helps the jam jell properly when cooled. Unfortunately, long term cooking can also dilute the fresh fruit flavor.
In this recipe, the cranberries are cooked just until they breakdown, then removed from the heat, about 5 minutes. Then the fresh raspberries and diced fresh pear are added to the hot mixture and stirred until well combined. The jam is not cooked again so the fresh fruit taste is robust and the color stays bold. Add a little cinnamon and nutmeg and a splash of Grand Marnier, if you have it. That’s it!
The cranberries are tart, the raspberries are sweet, and there is just a little crispness left in the juicy diced pear.
The idea for this recipe came from a jar of jam I saw in our local grocery store. I don’t know if the taste is similar or even close, but it doesn’t matter. This jam is a winner and will be a frequent visitor in our freezer!
The color is brilliant and the consistency is perfect. There are little chunks of fruit and loads of sweet and tart flavors.
Aren’t you glad this is the kind of Holiday Jam you can eat and not the kind you’ll find at the shopping mall?! Happy shopping and baking!
Thanks for PINNING!
Let’s be cooking friends! When you try our recipe please leave a comment on this post. If you loved this recipe we’d appreciate a 5-star rating! Sharing your experience, variations and insights will help all our readers, and it helps me too. If you’re on Pinterest feel free to leave a comment and photo there if you have one. If you share on INSTAGRAM tag @savingroomfordessert so we can stop by and give your post some love. And we’d be very happy if you’d FOLLOW Saving Room for Dessert on FACEBOOK| INSTAGRAM| PINTEREST | TWITTER and subscribe to our YOUTUBE channel for all the latest recipes, videos and updates. Thank you!!!
PRINT THE RECIPE!
Holiday Freezer Jam
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh cranberries
- 2 cups about 12-ounces fresh raspberries
- 1 ripe pear, peeled and cut into ¼-inch dice
- 4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 box SURE-JELL for Less (1.75 ounce box) or No Sugar Needed Fruit Pectin
- 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier
- 1 orange, juiced in a 1 cup measure. Add enough water to make 1 cup liquid
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
- You will need: Clean containers and lids to hold at least 6 ½ cups of jam.
- Wash the raspberries and place them in a small low mixing bowl. Crush the raspberries with a potato masher. Push half the pulp through a fine mesh sieve to remove part of the seeds. Discard the seeds and combine the raspberries and pulp together. Set aside.
- Place the sugar and pectin in a large saucepan and add the orange juice and water. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat and add the cranberries. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the cranberries burst and breakdown. While cooking the cranberries, use a wooden spoon to smash the berries against the side of the saucepan. Remove from the heat.
- Off heat, add the cinnamon, nutmeg, diced pear and all the raspberry pulp. Stir for a few minutes until well blended. Stir in the Grand Marnier and immediately fill the prepared containers to within ½ inch of the top.
- Wipe off the top edges of the containers and immediately cover with lids. Allow the jam to sit at room temperature for 24 hours then refrigerate for up to 3 weeks or freeze for up to 1 year. Thaw the jam in the refrigerator before serving.
Recipe Notes
- Refrigerate jam for up to 3 weeks or freeze jam for up to 1 year.
- Use fresh or frozen cranberries and raspberries (thaw slightly)
- If you don't have Grand Marnier, it will be delicious without - no worries
- Makes: 6 1/2 cups jam
Nutrition
Here are a few more recipes you might enjoy:
- Easy Small-Batch Strawberry Jam
- Hot Pepper Cranberry Jam ~ from The View from Great Island
- Cranberry Apple Butter ~ from The View from Great Island
These are a few of my favorite tools used to make this jam: (all photos are clickable)
The small print: If you decide to purchase something at Amazon after following my affiliate link, I receive a small commission, at no additional cost to you, which I use to pay for web hosting and services for this blog.
Finally, it’s the Monday before Christmas and all through our house, we’re busy wrapping presents … and … well that’s all I’ve got! Other than this delicious jam of course – you need to try it before the cranberries are gone! At least PIN it for next year so you can find it again 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by. I’ll have one more recipe for you later this week – so please come back again. We wish you a Merry Christmas!
Tricia
Mimi
I made this last year for Christmas gifts, and it was so well received. Bright, delicious combination of fruit. Truly delightful. I just found the first fresh cranberries of the season, so this will be my Saturday pronect.
Tricia Buice
Thanks Mimi! I’m so glad this turned out great for you. I love it and get so excited when I see cranberries in the stores 🙂