Spicy Cowboy Candy Canning Recipe (Step-By-Step) (2024)

This easy cowboy candy recipe is the perfect way to preserve a bunch of jalapenos in a sweet and spicy sauce.

I have been making these sweet and spicy jalapenos for years, our family can’t get enough. They are the perfect condiments year-round on burgers, diced into Mexican foods, added to dips, and mixed into my favorite bowl of home-canned chili.

What Ingredients You Will Need

All you need are a few simple ingredients to whip up a batch of spicy, sweet jalapeno peppers!

• Jalapeño peppers: Generally, smaller and brighter peppers are hotter, so choose accordingly. This candied jalapeno recipe is best with fresh jalapenos so be sure to choose peppers that are smooth. If it’s dimpled, then it is starting to lose moisture and is not very fresh.
• Apple cider vinegar: A mild, slightly sweet vinegar that is perfect for canning.
• White granulated sugar: Gives the sweetness to counteract the spiciness of the jalapenos.
• Turmeric: This bright yellow herb adds a unique flavor to these sweet and spicy jalapenos.
• Celery seed: A common ingredient used in pickling you can easily find at the grocery store with spices.
• Granulated garlic powder: An easy pantry staple perfect for making sweet pickled jalapenos.
• Cayenne pepper: Just a touch especially if you have slightly milder jalapenos.

Canned Cowboy Candy Recipe: Step-By-Step

Follow along with the step-by-step cowboy candy recipe for canning to ensure you have excellent results when making your own sweet pickled jalapenos.

1. Before you start preparing your peppers, place a canner rack in the bottom of a boiling water canner. Fill the canner half full with clean, warm water for a canner load of pint jars. For other sizes and numbers of jars, you will need to adjust the amount of water so it will be 1 to 2 inches over the top of the filled jars.

2. Center the canner over the burner and preheat the water to 140 degrees F. for raw-packed foods and to 180 degrees F. for hot-packed foods. You can begin preparing food for your jars while this water is preheating.

3. Remove the stems from all of the jalapeno peppers. The easiest way to do this is to slice a small disc off of the stem-end along with the stem. Discard the stems

Pro Tip: Use caution when handling jalapenos. Nothing hurts more than rubbing your eye with jalapeno juice on your fingers. Wear rubber gloves and avoid touching your face.

4. Slice the peppers into uniform 1/8-1/4 inch rounds. Set aside.
5. In a large pot, bring cider vinegar, white sugar, turmeric, celery seed, granulated garlic, and cayenne pepper to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

6. Raise the heat to boil again, add the pepper slices, return to a hard boil, then reduce the heat again and simmer for exactly 4 minutes.

7. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the jalapenos, loading them into clean, sterile canning jars to within 1/4 inch of the upper rim of the jar.

8. Ladle or pour the syrup into the jars over the candied jalapeno slices to 1/4 inch headspace, Insert a butter knife to the bottom of the jar two or three times to release any trapped pockets of air. Adjust the level of the syrup if necessary.

9. Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean, damp paper towel and fix on new, two-piece lids to finger-tip tightness. Place jars in canner rack.

10. Place rack in a canner, cover with water by 2-inches. Bring the water to a full rolling boil. When it reaches a full rolling boil, set the timer for 10 minutes for half-pints or 15 minutes for pints.

11. Using a jar lifter, remove the jars one at a time, being careful not to tilt the jars. Carefully place them directly onto a kitchen towel or cake cooling rack, leaving at least one inch of space between the jars during cooling. Avoid placing the jars on a cold surface or in a cold draft.

Gift Idea – Spicy Dip and Crackers

Giving a jar of pickled sliced jalapenos in a gift basket would be a hit with the receiver. Grab a small basket, put a jar of pickled jalapenos, a variety of crackers, a block of cream cheese, and a cute plate and serving knife. Give them instructions to unwrap the cream cheese and place it on the plate. Spoon over the pickled jalapenos and serve with crackers.

Need more Jalapeno recipes? Do you have a lot of jalapenos and are not sure what to do with all of them? It’s quick and easy to make oven-roasted jalapeños peppers at home. Putting oven-roasted jalapeños in your recipes is a great way to add a new depth of flavor.

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9 comments on “Spicy Cowboy Candy Canning Recipe (Step-By-Step)”

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1. 

   Dennis — 02/15/2022 @ 11:21 am Reply

   How long do they last in a dry cellar

   • 

     Gina — 02/15/2022 @ 11:37 am Reply

     I can enough to supply us for a year but sometimes we don’t get them all eaten until a year and a half.I keep them in a dry basem*nt. Be sure to write the date on your lids with a permanent marker and store without the rings. To be sure you are following safe water bath canning practices be sure and visit: https://intentionalhospitality.com/water-bath-canning/
     ***According to the National Center for Home Preservation, properly canned food stored in a cool, dry place will retain optimum eating quality for at least 1 year. Canned food stored in a warm place near hot pipes, a range, a furnace, or in indirect sunlight may lose some of its eating quality in a few weeks or months, depending on the temperature. Dampness may corrode cans or metal lids and cause leakage so the food will spoil.

2. 

   Christine — 07/27/2022 @ 11:47 am Reply

   I’m new to canning, and can’t wait to try these out! I want to try canning some of this in the 4oz. jar to add to some gift baskets. Does that affect the canning time, or can I process them with the half-pint jars for 10 minutes?

   • 

     Gina — 07/28/2022 @ 10:11 am Reply

     Christine, I suggest processing them for 10 minutes. It’s not so much about the product inside, but the rubber seal getting hot enough to soften and conform to the jar top. Be sure not to not over process time-wise, because your pepper rings will get super soft and mushy. (how do I know? – I got busy and forgot to turn them off after 10 min. once. They were fine but just extra soft). I love the gift idea!

3. 

   Todd Dickson — 03/30/2023 @ 6:16 am Reply

   
   I like to add them into my deviled eggs. Takes it up a notch.

4. 

   Sheri Hokamp — 06/06/2023 @ 12:06 pm Reply

   
   I can’t wait until I can make this! Thank you so much for sharing. ❤️

   • 

     Gina Dickson — 06/06/2023 @ 10:19 pm Reply

     Sheri, Let me know how they turn out. Be sure to try them in my spicy pimento cheese recipe, so yummy.

5. 

   stefanie — 08/17/2023 @ 12:16 pm Reply

   I’ve tried pickling peppers, using several different recipes over the years, and found they get mushy even when adding calcium chloride. How does the texture of these hold up with the water bath processing? Thanks!

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     Gina Dickson — 08/18/2023 @ 8:45 am Reply

     I have the EXACT same problem! It helps if the water is a full really hard boil when the jars go in, so the reboil happens quickly and so you can set the timer. This is off topic, but I have found a great way to make pickles & onions in vinegar and sugar. I make them as usual then put it in freezer containers. Then during the winter I put one in the fridge overnight to thaw. They are just like they were in summer, crisp. Maybe next year I should go on a quest for how to finally get non mushy pickles every time and then do a recipe for it.

posted by Gina Dickson on April 15, 2022 (last updated Aug 8, 2022)

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