Apricot Jam

I've never eaten apricot jam. That, of course, didn't deter me from picking up a couple pounds of apricots to jam when I found them on sale. I consulted my trusty Food in Jars cookbook and, sure enough, found several apricot recipes including one for jam. Here's my variation on that recipe with a few tweaks based on suggestions from The Flavor Bible. This is a delicious jam. I think it would be wonderful sandwiched between a vanilla cake. 

Apricot Jam
6 cups apricots, pitted and coarsely chopped
3 cups sugar
2 dried lemon slices
1 vanilla bean, sliced and scraped
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. cardamom

Combine apricots, sugar, lemon slices and vanilla seeds and bean in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring often, until fruit softens and breaks apart some, about 15 minutes. Add lemon juice and cardamom, and cook to 220˚F until it thickens to jam consistency. (You can tell because you can draw a line through the mixture with your spatula, and the line holds a few moments.)

Remove lemon slices and vanilla bean. Ladle jam into prepared jars, and process 10 minutes in a hot water bath. Makes about 1.5 to 2 pints of jam.