Dreamsicle Jam
I remember my mom standing out by the side of the road, in her cat-eyes sunglasses waving down the Pinky-Dinky man.
She would buy me anything I wanted as long as it didn’t cost more than a dime….yes, a dime!
She always bought herself a push-up. Always. Mom loved those things, still does. As a treat for her Mother’s Day gift, I wanted to recreate that for her in a way that wasn’t ice cream based.
In the winter of 2010, I searched the Internet for something to make that was “push-up-like”. I came upon a dreamsicle jam. I made a mental note of the ingredients and moved on. The next year, when I finally got around to making it, I could not – for the life of me – find the doggone recipe on the Internet. I searched high and low to no avail. Eventually, I took what I remembered and tried to recreate it. The following are the results. My mother loves it and when my husband figured out what it was – he calls them creamsicles – he loved it too.
They love it so much that I had to promise I would not throw away any of it when I was experimenting for my Nano-canning book. Mom and the ladies at the Land of Old (independent living apt. complex where she lives) said they could find any number of things to do with it even if it wasn’t perfect.
So, whether you call it a Push-Up:
A Creamsicle:
Or, a Dreamsicle, it is one of the tastiest jellies I’ve ever made:
Dreamsicle Jelly:
- 4 cups freshly squeezed orange juice
- 4 cups sugar
- 2 vanilla beans, split and scraped
- Pat of butter
- 1 box pectin – optional**
Strain the orange juice through cheesecloth.
Combine orange juice, sugar, butter, vanilla bean scrapings and beans in a large pot.
Bring to a hard boil over high heat.
Dreamsicle Jam from Kelli’s Kitchen
**If you add the pectin now, pour in the entire box and continue stirring until it reaches another hard boil. Continue boiling for exactly 1 minute.
**If you are not going to use pectin, make sure the hard boil reaches 220 degrees F. and maintains that for 3 minutes.
Take pot off heat.
Dreamsicle Jam from Kelli’s Kitchen
Remove the vanilla beans from the pot and ladle jelly into prepared jars.
Wipe rims, apply lids and screw on bands.
Process in a boiling water canner for ten minutes.
Remove jars from processing pot and place them on a towel-lined countertop and let them cool in a draft-free area for several hours.
Every 10 minutes, turn jars upside down/right side up so vanilla specks will be evenly distributed and not all collect at the top.
When they are cool enough to handle, check the seals. Store any unsealed jars in the fridge and place the rest in your pantry.
Dreamsicle Jam from Kelli’s Kitchen
I bet you are wondering what you could do with this besides spreading it on biscuits. As the picture shows, it is outstanding on ice cream. Mr. Picky-eater likes it on vanilla “because it has a lighter taste” but I love it on chocolate ice cream. However, it doesn’t photograph very well on chocolate so we went with vanilla. My girlfriend likes it stirred into yogurt. Mom and her lady friends like it on butter pecan ice cream, biscuits, English muffin, hot cornbread, warm and plain yellow cake just out of the oven, and toast. One lady eats it stirred into her morning rice – milk, butter, and instead of the normal sugar – dreamsicle jelly.
I recommend this jelly very highly and I hope you will try it soon!
Dreamsicle Jelly
Ingredients
- 4 cups freshly squeezed orange juice
- 4 cups sugar
- 2 vanilla beans split and scraped
- Pat of butter
- 1 box pectin – optional**
Instructions
-
Strain the orange juice through cheesecloth.
-
Combine orange juice, sugar, butter, vanilla bean scrapings and beans in a large pot.
-
Bring to a hard boil over high heat.
-
**If you add the pectin now, pour in the entire box and continue stirring until it reaches another hard boil. Continue boiling for exactly 1 minute.
-
**If you are not going to use pectin, make sure the hard boil reaches 220 degrees F. and maintains that for 3 minutes.
-
Take pot off heat.
-
Remove the vanilla beans from the pot and ladle jelly into prepared jars.
-
Wipe rims, apply lids and screw on bands.
-
Process in a boiling water canner for ten minutes.
-
Remove jars from processing pot and place them on a towel-lined countertop and let them cool in a draft-free area for several hours.
-
Every 10 minutes, turn jars upside down/right side up so vanilla specks will be evenly distributed and not all collect at the top.
-
When they are cool enough to handle, check the seals. Store any unsealed jars in the fridge and place the rest in your pantry.
That is the sweetest mothers day treat ever – recreating her favourite 😀
And what a delicious favourite it was my friend – well done and I hope you and your mum had a wonderful mothers day 🙂
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Yes we did and thank you very much! Do you celebrate Mother’s Day where you are?
Yes actually we went out to breakfast and I am baking for her and my grandmother tomorrow 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Yum! I used to love creamsicles! And I also loved those Dixie cups with half orange and half vanilla. I will have to try this!
What a great idea! And such a thoughtful thing to do for Mother’s Day. Hope it was a good one for you!
Beth
Reminds me of dreamsicle “floats.” Vanilla ice cream with orange soda. Yum.
Yum! I remember so well!!
What a wonderful treat for your mom! 😉
Creamsicles are one of my favorites… Now I can have it in a jelly too? Cool!
Stopping by from Week-end Potluck~ I call it a push-up:) One of my favorite flavors..can’t wait to try this jelly:) It will taste wonderful on scones~ Stop by for a visit sometime~ Lynn H @ Turnips 2 Tangerines
Thank you! I will stop by later today – love that name!!
Oh my goodness, this looks delicious! I call them creamsicles and we love them around here 🙂 I will have to try this out! Thanks for sharing!
Visiting from the Farm Girl Blog Fest 🙂
Thank you! Don’t you just love the Farm Girl Blog Fest? I think its great! I will come visit your blog later today – Please come again!
Loving this idea. Creamsicles are irresistible. Love your spin on it. Thanks for sharing on Thursdays Treasures.
This is so going to happen in my kitchen very soon! Great idea. Like your Mom, I was always a fan of the orange push pops … Yummers! Pinning for later 🙂
Great! I know you will like it and remember, it’s got citrus in it so it may take up to 2 weeks to set up – mine took a couple of days but depending on how humid it is where you live…..it’s my favorite after strawberry!
Hi, I made this jelly two days ago and it’s still on the runny side. How long should I give it before opening the jars to reboil the mixture to try and get it to gel? Thanks.
You should wait 2 weeks Amie – because there is citrus involved it can take that long for it to set up – as long as your jars lids are sealed, you will be fine!
This just wonderful! The timing of this recipe is perfect. My local hardware store has canning jars on sale right now. But, I was wondering about the amount this recipe makes. How many jars are needed for this one recipe? Thanks for sharing!
HI there! thank you for coming by – my family fights over this every single year! I just gave away the last jar I made on Friday to a lady whose 80th birthday wish was for a jar of it! can you imagine? It is very tasty. It will make about 8 half-pint jars give or take one. Get yourself a case of jars and you will be just fine! good luck and if you need any help – just put the question on the post and I will get to it sometime that day (or night) if I’m working! Please come again! KK
Thanks so much for the quick reply. My mother-in-law is 95 years young and I am constantly going to the store for her to purchase Orange Dreamsicles or Vanilla/Orange Ice Cream/Sherbert. I thought this would be the perfect way to get her the flavor she’s looking for. I’m heading out the door for the jars. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Thanks again!
just one question you said in your recipe to let cool undisturbed for several hours.
Every 10 minutes, turn jars upside down/right side up so vanilla specks will be evenly distributed and not all collect at the top. If setting for several hours won’t it set and the specks already be at the top?
You are correct Tammy! So sorry – what I meant was let it sit in a draft free place for several hours and turn them upside down/right side up every 10 minutes or so. That way the specks will be distributed throughout. I’m so glad you brought that to my attention. I will edit the post! Please come back anytime!
quick question, how long does it keep in the fridge after opening (i know, ‘not long’), but actually how long?
It keeps 2 weeks I am sure of that! It has just never lasted longer than that. We prefer the smaller (half pint) jars so we empty them rather quickly. Thanks for dropping by and please come back anytime!
I know this is a stupid question but what is a “pat” of butter? I what a dash & pinch are but not a pat just don’t want to mess it up bc I’m ready to get it going but don’t want to just guess u know? Thank you for ur time
I’m so sorry Alicia! I was traveling for business today and I just got home. A pat of butter is not a stupid question – it is a thin slice off the stick of butter!
Delicious jelly, I am making a few dozen jars for Xmas presents, thanks!!
I’m so glad you liked it – they make wonderful presents but be prepared – you will get requests every year from now on for it! 🙂 thank you for dropping by and please come back again!
What an awesome recipe! I CANNOT wait to make this! Quick question for you…how many jars/sizes did the recipe make? I’d like to know whether or not I should double it. I usually give away some to my family members, who love my canning goodies :). Thanks so much! Keep up the good work!
Katie – I’m so glad you wrote! This IS an awesome recipe but you cannot double it although you can make it twice! 🙂 There’s something about the orange that will mess it up if you add more or make more than you should in one pot. It will make between 6 and 8 half pints. I always buy 2 cases of half pints and then have a plastic/glass dish for the leftover that is not enough for the half pints. Remember, this is very labor instensive so it will take a lot of work………but it’s soooo worth it. Let me know how you like it!!
Kelli, thank you so much for the info!! I’m so glad I asked about the doubling! I’ll just have to make two batches :). I usually do a combo of the half-pint jars and the little 8 oz jelly jars. I just got into canning last spring when we discovered we have a mulberry tree in our backyard. My three girls and I gathered enough to make a batch of jam, and boy, was that labor-intensive with separating the seeds and stems from the pulp pretty much manually! But it was so worth it, the jam was delish!! I love the feeling of satisfaction when you’ve made something out of raw fruit, berries, or veggies :). Thanks again! I look forward to tasting the fruits of my labor of your delicious recipe! 🙂
Katie – get yourself either some cheese cloth and a food mill – it will go WAY faster with a food mill………one of the big metal ones. I can always find them at yard sales for $1 each. Don’t get the little plastic ones for baby food – then wash and boil the mulberries – just cover with water – then dip a couple of ladles into the food mill which is positioned over a bowl and start turning – WAY less labor intensive! I can’t wait to see what else you make!
Kelli, thanks for the tips! Since doing the mulberries, I have since acquired both cheesecloth AND a good, all metal OXO food mill :). I learned my lesson the hard way, but it was still worth it! Friends and family raved about the mulberry jam :). I have since made apple cider butter, peach butter, candy apple jelly(apple jelly w/a hint of cinnamon from Red Hots candy), bread and butter pickles(my daughters LOVE them), and cherry champagne blush jelly, which includes real champagne added right before ladling into the jars. It allows the jelly to retain the bubbles once it has set, yum! I really enjoy canning and I live in the middle of Amish Country in Lancaster County, PA so there’s always great produce available if I need to purchase my ingredients. I love living here! 🙂
I made your Dreamsicle Jelly last week. I used liquid pectin instead of the powder. My concern is that the jelly looks like it is seperating. There is a darker row of yellow and then a much larger area of another color yellow. I have canned for several years and I just wondered what your thoughts were. Please advise. orissarun@msn.com
Hi Heather – did you turn it upside down and back again several times? It could be some oddity – Gosh, I just don’t know because I have never had it happen to me with any jam or jelly. I’m so sorry. Wait, did the vanilla bean gather in the darker row? Maybe that is what is causing the darker color.
No the vanilla bean did not seperate from the jelly, they are consistently thoughout the jelly. I emailed you a photo, I hope you get a chance to look at it. I tastes wonderful but the seperation has me worried. Any thoughts?
Hey Heather – so sorry I have checked the email in a few days. It is almost Sine Die so work has just been crazy – looking now!
I am asking about your dreamcycle jelly can I use regular vanilla or have you tried this?Thank you
Hi Neva! Yes – of course you can use probably 2 teaspoons regular vanilla – put it in after you take the pot off the stove, stir and wait a minute before you start ladling it into the jars. Unless you have clear vanilla, the color will be more of a dark amber but it will taste great!
Hi,
The creamsicle jelly/jam looks and sounds fantastic! My question is-can this be done as a freezer jam rather than water bath canning?
Thank you!!
Sonda
Sure – just make it and then instead of ladling into mason jars, put them in containers with tight fitting lids – but don’t put the lids on yet! let it cool completely then put lids on and into the freezer!
Thank you so much!
You are welcome – let me know how you like it once you get it made!
Hi Kelli! I’m finally getting around to making your dreamsicle jelly recipe and wondered just how much headspace should I leave in the jars when ladling the jelly in? Thanks so much! I can’t wait to try this!
Only leave 1/4 inch – anymore than that and bacteria can grow even if it is sealed. Don’t get crazy and measure each one, but measure the first couple then you can eye it – it will come natural soon enough…………..good luck!
Kelli, Do you have to do the boiling water bath?? Just wondered because I’ve never done that with any jams i’ve ever made before even using the pectin. Thank You!!!! P.S. My Hubby LOVES Creamsicle’s so I’m going to try this and Surprise him.
Hi Sue – thank you for dropping by! Well, here’s what I can say: The USDA does not recommend making jams or jellies by “turning the lid-tightened jars upside down for 10 minutes like those in the UK and Europe do instead of the water-bath method”. So, legally I cannot recommend that other people do that. Do I do that in my own home? Probably. 🙂 Let me know how your husband likes it! My husband loves it!
Had a bunch of cities that I needed to use up and saw this recipe. Was a cup short on my juice so added 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup Grand Marnier. Turned out really yummy. Plan to try it over French toast.
Great save Wendy! I love the addition of Grand Mariner – sounds wonderful! Please let us know how it tastes on the French Toast!
Hi Kelli! Have you ever had this jam (or any jam) overflow on you? I made this just as the recipe called for, only substituting vanilla extract for vanilla beans, but it ended up overflowing twice. The first time, I thought it overflowed because I used to small of a pot, but the second, larger pot I used didn’t help any either. And at the end of the whole thing, the jam never set – it just stayed watery. I am pretty new to jamming, but I just can’t figure out what happened.
I must say, though, it does make an excellent glaze.
Hi Rachel! I HAVE had it bubble up close to the edge as it is boiling and I am stirring but I just turn down the fire a tiny bit and also – if you lay a wooden spoon across the top of the pot, it will not boil over – but it makes it hard to stir that way. Do you have an electric stove by chance? Those are more prone to boil over – just keep stirring and turn it down a little. It does take about 2 weeks to set up and it is Jelly and not Jam so it’s not going to be as thick as Jam……….but if you still are having trouble with it setting up. just pop the tops and reboil it all and add in another box of pectin…………..then, don’t make jam when it is humid or raining outside or storming/getting ready to storm. My nana used to say that but I didn’t listen and I’ve ruined many a jar of jam by trying to make it when the weather wasn’t cooperating and it won’t set up. If you have any more questions – please let me know!!
Hi Kelli!
I had no idea jelly took so long to set! I guess I was assuming it was supposed to set just like jam does as it cooks, but knowing that it takes more time makes a lot of sense. Hopefully that means there’s still a chance for what I made! Also, I’ve never heard about the weather affecting the setting process so much, nor have I heard about the wooden spoon trick before. Thank you for letting me know! I’m trying to figure out this jam/jelly-cooking on my own, so I don’t think I would have ever learned those things anywhere other than here.
Thank you for your advice!!!
Rachel – I have lots of posts a bout Jam and Jelly on this blog so just search Canning, Jam, and/or Jelly and see what comes up. It will give you all kinds of tips and tricks. The reason it takes nearly 2 weeks for Creamsicle to set up is because it has citrus in it and marmalade (jelly or jam that has citrus in it) always takes longer! 🙂
Can this be made with reduced sugar? My dad loved these but is diabetic.
Mine too! And yes – you can use the reduced sugar pectin and use about 2 cups less sugar or even use stevia. It won’t set up as “well” as if you used the regular pectin and the full sugar but it’s really not that noticeable – go ahead and try it and let me k now what you think!!
I made this recipe two days ago for the first time. I used bottled orange juice and vanilla extract (about 1 1/2 tbsp.). I am still waiting for it to set but in the meantime I am just labeling it as a syrup. I was reading through the comments and saw Heather had an issue of separation ,If you do not strain the juice you can get separation when the solids fall to the bottom, I am trying to “stir” them back together by turning the jars a time or two a day while I wait for them to set.
That’s a great idea! Thanks for dropping by and let us know how it goes! Kelli
When you state to use 1box of pectin if using, what is the weight equivalent in g/oz or in measuring spoon amount?
I believe that’s 6 level Tablespoons full. Thanks for asking!
What happens if you don’t use pectin?
Well – because it’s citrus, it will be harder than others to “firm up” but you can do it – just bring the mixture without pectin up to 220 degrees F and keep it there for 60 full seconds then take it off the stove and ladle into jars. Make sure you use the water bath canning depending on what size jars you make. Good luck and if you have any more questions – just let me know!!
I haven’t had to much luck with jellies. Could you do this as a marmalade? If I do try to attempt the Jelly, would flipping top to bottom allow it to set still? Every 10 min I flip? for how long? Im getting better and determined to learn.
Hi Laura, Thanks for asking! Yes, you could do this as marmalade – my family doesn’t care for it and so I make it as jelly. Go ahead and make it – do the water bath and then turn them up and down…………generally for a 1/2 pint jar an hour and a half is good – a pint is probably 2 hours. I’m not sure I would make a quart. but I guess you could do that as you like. Don’t worry – you will learn and the good news is – if it’s not perfect, you still get to eat it! 🙂
Thanks! Gonna go get some supplies today!
Made this delish jelly a few days ago. I added 3 tbsp Ball low sugar pectin since people were commenting that it wasn’t setting well. It set beautifully. Also, I wonder if turning the jars upside down every ten minutes affects the set?? I didn’t turn them and some of the vanilla bean settled to the bottom, but there’s plenty of specks disbursed throughout the jelly anyway. Can’t wait to make more!
Oh, and I reduced the sugar to 2 cups. Perfect for our family.
Hi Teri! I don’t know if turning the jars up and down affects the set – it never has affected mine – but it is beautiful and tasty isn’t it?? I’m so glad you had a good experience with it and enjoyed making it. Also, I am happy to know you reduced the sugar to 2 cups —- all the better! thanks for dropping by and please come again!
I have arthritis in my hands and the thought of squeezing all those oranges is the only thing stopping me from trying this delightful sounding treat. There is Orange juice out there in the stores now that has no sugar, no preservatives, and no pulp. , Never been frozen. It sounds like this should work, wondering what your thoughts are…… Thanks in advance.
Hi Lynn – my mom has arthritis as well — you bet I would use the orange juice that had no sugar. I do like pulp i n the marmade so I may leave that but I would use already squeezed juice in any kind of jelly I wanted – do what you can and enjoy the outcome! Be sure and let us know how it goes! Kelli
Hi Kelli, Since I live in Florida on the West Coast, I do have access to several places to purchase different kinds of oranges at the same time, Have you tried this recipe with a blend of a few different oranges?? Just wondering how it would taste and if someone has tried that. This sounds like a great recipe and one that I will be making this week. Thanks for sharing. Tom
Hi Tom — I have not tried other kinds of oranges here for a nice blending of tastes. You know, they say that blood oranges are for cooking so i thought the next time I make it, I would try a half and half blend…………but then my family always tells me they like it just the way it is and doesn’t want me to change it! 😉 I think it would be great! If you try it, please let us know how it goes and what it tastes like. Thanks Tom!!
This jelly is amazing! Thanks for sharing 😁
I am so glad you liked it!
This recipe sounds amazing. I did try to make a few weeks ago. It has not set and has been 3 weeks. If I open and reprocess- am I adding more pectin? I did add the pectin the first time.
Excellent question! First, jelly doesn’t set as firm as most commercial jelly does, however, if you are looking for a firmer set (which I like) I would open the jars, replace the flats of course and yes — add another package of pectin! That should work just fine! Good luck. And this is amazing. Just made some a couple of weeks ago!!