Dark Chocolate Strawberry Sauce

Good day to you! I haven't canned anything in roughly two months. Life has been hectic. Ya know how life can do that pesky thing it does where you're so busy all the time that when you finally go to bed at night you just kinda collapse, pass out, and wake up in a puddle of drool? I'm there right now. Painting, taking care of a zoo, laundry, work, etc., oh yeah and the swiftly approaching HOLIDAY. Can you believe its almost Christmas already??

Anywho, the weekend before last I bought five fresh pineapple with the intention of making pineapple jam. This morning I took them out of the cabinet and gasped in horror - lots and lots of mold. I guess leaving fresh fruit in a dark cabinet for over a week will do that. So I grabbed my canning bible, The Ball Book of Home Preserving, and found a recipe for Chocolate Raspberry Sundae topper that I've been wanting to try. Except I didn't have any raspberries. BUT, I did have plenty of strawberries! 

The end result of this adaptation is DIVINE. This sauce would be delectable on ice cream, pancakes, waffles, fruit, as a cheesecake topping, and uh pretty much anywhere else that you can think of. As always, I use Ball Low Sugar Pectin and reduce the amount of sugar to one third that the original recipe calls for. It created a perfect balance of sweet, and tart. 

This sauce would make a fantastic gift for the upcoming holidays!

Dark Chocolate Strawberry Sauce

yields 6 half-pints

4 1/2 C. Pureed Strawberries
1/2 C. Water
1/2 C. Sifted Unsweetened Dark Cocoa Powder
1 Pkg. (OR 3 Tbsp) Ball Low Sugar Pectin 
2 1/4 C. White Sugar
4 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1/4 tsp Butter (to reduce foaming)

Prepare jars and lids. Combine strawberries, water, lemon juice, and butter in a large pot. In a small bowl, mix cocoa powder and pectin. Whisk cocoa powder/pectin mixture into the strawberry/lemon mixture. Bring to a boil. Add sugar all at once. Whisk until thoroughly combined. Bring back to a boil, and boil hard for one minute. Remove from heat. Ladle hot sauce into jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace, remove air bubbles, and add more sauce if necessary. Attach lid and band. Process jars for 10 minutes. Turn off heat, and let jars sit in canner for an additional 5 minutes. Remove, cool, and store.