Toast Topper #35: Creamsicle Jelly #12WksXmasTreats

My mom looooves orange Creamsicles. While it's been years since she had her last pop, mention the combination of creamy vanilla and bright orange and she'll definitely mention her passion for the treats. Nobody in my family shares her love though - for me, it's a texture and taste thing... I like orange popsicles, and I like vanilla ice cream. But together the icy-creamy mix seems off. My sister simply doesn't like orange flavour in general, and while she will eat vanilla ice cream she is definitely in the "bowl" camp and avoids anything on a stick or in a cone.

That said, the idea of combining oranges and vanilla in a spread never occurred to me, until I came into the possession of a can of orange juice concentrate and a few vanilla beans. I knew I still had a bit of canning left to do for holiday gifts, plus my mom was finishing up her previous jar of jam, and when I saw Marisa's recipe on Food in Jars for Creamsicle Jelly I couldn't wait to try my hand at a version too!

Instead of the fresh juice, I mixed up the concentrate and water and added it to the vanilla sugar and vanilla beans. I didn't really want to add 4 cups of sugar to the batch (it seemed so sweet!) and since I only buy no-sugar-needed pectin I was able to cut the amount in half. Even after cooking, the bright hue of the juice remained and was a great contrast with the dark vanilla bean I included in each jar. It was a good thing that my batch made slightly more than 2 pints, though - my mom didn't let me can the extra half! I did manage to save enough for an upcoming cake though, and I can say that whether you're eating this jelly on toast, spooned into baked apples or stirred into yoghurt for the true Creamsicle effect, it's a bright hit of Summer to enjoy year round. 

Even though I was totally off the ball last week, I've mostly caught up and am back with 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats hosted at Meal Planning Magic! Have you thought of your holiday treats yet? There's still time to get on the wagon!


Creamsicle Jelly
Makes 2 ½ pints, 40 (2-tbsp) servings
4 cups water
1 (12-oz) can frozen orange juice concentrate
2 cups vanilla sugar
2 vanilla beans, split, scraped and cut in half width-wise (or 2 tbsp vanilla extract)
1 box no-sugar-needed pectin

1. Combine orange juice, vanilla sugar, vanilla bean scrapings and beans in a large pot. Bring to a boil over high heat and boil until the volume is cut in half.
2. Add the pectin and continue boiling for 2-3 minutes (according to the manufacturer’s instructions).
3. Ladle jam into sanitized jars and place a halved vanilla bean in each (if using vanilla beans).
4. Process in a boiling water canner 10 minutes.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 54.6
Total Fat: 0.0 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 0.0 mg
Total Carbs: 14.1 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.0 g
Protein: 0.3 g

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