Apple Pie Jam & Cheese Bites

Cinnamon sugar pita chips are topped with melty Jarlsberg cheese and smothered with apple pie jam.
The perfect last minute appetizer, snack or dessert to keep on hand or take to a party!

Sometimes life happens. Sometimes it happens in big and overwhelming ways. That seems to be the story of our lives, we have our happy little plan that is supposed to go this one certain way and part way there it explodes and the plan is completely changed. Maybe thats the point. We hold these rigid assumptions that life is supposed to look a certain way, that we are supposed to feel a certain way…..and we don’t. 

Growing up is realizing that regardless of the looks and the feelings that we must pick ourselves up, dust each other off, realize it’s really not that big of a deal and carry on with a smile.

I’m not so good at this part of life yet. I can literally feel the 2 year old within me and see the one I’ve birthed in front of me, crying “No! No! No! I don’t wanna!”

I want things to go the way I want them, in my timing, with my desired outcome. Haven’t we already been through this?

Apparently this is not my strong suit. So I come back to Psalm 46:

“Cease striving and know that I am God.”

Another version says “stop your fighting” and “be still”.

Or in the words of Crush from Finding Nemo after Marlin has a panic attack: “Whoa, Kill the motor dude”

Can you relate? 

I’ve been learning to do a few things lately that help:

Say “yes” to less– a lot less. This has been the hardest thing for me because I’ve been a total people pleaser and obsessively creative for a long time.

Stop making things more complicated then necessary which ultimately= paralysis and procrastination.  
This recipe is a perfect example of simple is better. I *gasp* used someone else’s recipe for the jam and didn’t make my chips from scratch. Because if I save some time simplifying I have that time to:

Stop making excuses for not doing the truly important things.
I packed all of us up and we went on a spur of the moment camping trip at a lake for Kevin’s birthday this last week. It was overnight, in the middle of the work week. Crazy? Yeah a little bit, but it was the jolt we needed to remember yes, this time together in the wilderness is important to our sanity. We are taking a bunch of the family camping this weekend with us and it feels way less overwhelming since we just went out a week ago.

But let’s talk about these little bites for a minute. Cheese and jam you might ask? Trust me on this…..it tastes like a mini apple pie friends and they take literally 4 minutes or less to make. Jarlsberg Mini’s are unwrapped and sliced in thirds. The slices are placed on top of cinnamon sugar pita chips and broiled for 2-3 minutes on a cookie sheet. Finally a spoonful of jam is placed on top and you are ready to go! These are best served immediately so the cheese is nice and melty.

And for those nights where you remember you were supposed to bring dessert or an appetizer to the party? Toss the ingredients in your bag and borrow a cookie sheet when you arrive. You’ll look all fancy and prepared you awesome person you.

Bonus: This week WIN a HUGE tote of these awesome Jarslberg Mini’s to scarf all by yourself in the kitchen late at night.

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Apple Pie Jam

A sweet chunky apple jam that tastes like apple pie filling. We use Pomona Pectin for a lower sugar jam!

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Servings 4 -5 cups

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Ingredients

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• For Applesauce:
• 3 to 4 pound of apples 9 to 12 medium apples
• ¼ cup up to 1 cup water
• For Jam:
• 4 cups of cooked apple sauce
• 2 tsp calcium water
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 vanilla bean
• 2 teaspoons Pomona’s Pectin powder

Instructions

Before You Begin:

• 1. Prepare calcium water. To do this, combine ½ teaspoon calcium powder (in the small packet in your box of Pomona’s pectin) with ½ cup water in a small, clear jar with a lid. Shake well. Extra calcium water should be stored in the refrigerator for future use.
• 2. Place apples and water in a thick-bottomed pot with a lid. Cook down apples adding water as needed to cook down into applesauce. Depending on the variety you may need more or less water to boil them.
• 3. Measure out approximately 4 cups of applesauce and return it to the pan. Reserve excess for eating later.
• 4. Add calcium water, lemon juice, vanilla bean (scrape interior with knife tip into pan, then add the whole bean as well) and spices, and mix thoroughly.
• 5. Measure sugar into a bowl. Thoroughly mix pectin powder into sugar. Set aside.
• 6. Bring fruit mixture to a full boil. Add pectin-sugar mixture, stirring vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes to dissolve the pectin while the jam comes back up to a boil. Once the jam returns to a full boil, remove it from the heat.
• 7. Cool and then store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.

Notes

This recipe can be canned, view full original instructions here: http://www.pomonapectin.com/recipes/apple-pie-jam/

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 673kcal | Carbohydrates: 177g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 20mg | Fiber: 22g | Sugar: 142g

Author: Dani Meyer

Course : *Easy Entertaining Dishes

apple, snack, jam, filling, pectin, apple sauce, pie, snacks