Sweet and Spicy Cowboy Candy (a.k.a Candied Jalapenos)

If you’ve ever looked up Cowboy Candy for sale, you’ll know it’s not cheap. One popular brand on Amazon charges $12 per jar! This fruit candy recipe pencils to less than 25% of that and includes the exact same ingredients. Of course those jars are ready to eat upon delivery whereas making it from home requires some patience. 

Candied Jalapeno Recipe

A few tips to note before making this recipe:

Seeds in or seeds out? As with many jalapeno recipes, it’s up to you. It won’t affect the recipe other than the texture of the seeds. 

Try and let your jars of cowboy candy develop for 3-4 weeks in the refrigerator before enjoying, if possible. You can absolutely wait just a week, but a good month really brings out the texture and flavor.

There are three options for slicing up the jalapeños. All options are great – it really comes down to how you like to work in the kitchen. I pick “easy to clean” over “quick” any day of the week, but you may be the opposite.

1. If you’re a long time reader you know I detest whipping out my Mandoline slicer. Using it is great, but cleaning it in a safe way is a a hassle. But it works really well here.

2. Add the peppers, one at a time, through the feed chute of your food processor.

3. Whip out some gloves and cut them by hand with a sharp knife. I actually prefer this method. Sure it’s tedious but it’s less “stuff” to clean.