Sliced apples bring back childhood memories

We are that family... the one that has an apple tree in the yard - but still goes to the orchard to try out all the apples and even buy a bunch to bring home, even though we have a tree loaded with apples. Since our discovery that our producing tree is NOT in fact the Honey Crisp - we were in search of apples that were sweet and crispy. Back at home - we had ripe apples on the tree that needed some love. I remember when I was a kid my mom would buy jars of spiced apples - they were as dark red as a beat but spicy and sweet. I went hunting for a recipe and found this one. It has an odd ingredient... candy red hots. Being September - those aren't the easiest to find so I bought some cute expensive bottles of them. I did find some of my apples to be a little too big for this project, ha! I settled them into the jar with some force. I also did not have a cheese cloth or a cute tea ball for my cloves. I had the bright idea to use a coffee filter tied at the tope - that worked great - until the bottom seem burst and there were cloves everywhere. Good thing we like cloves because they got included in the jars too - why not? I had a few extra slices that did not fit in jars - but no worries, my family members ate them as soon as I put them in the bowl. I did two recipes - using the same syrup. Second time I added food coloring for that nostalgic look of the rings. I'm pretty sure I didn't add enough to saturate but they sure look pretty. I saved all my extra syrup in case we need to make a few more batches with more apples that are on their way to ripe - a fun delicious project.

Spiced Apple Rings

6 lbs firm tart apples/such as granny smiths (max.diameter 2-1/2 inches - approx 12 apples)
6 cups sugar
3 cups water
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbs white vinegar (5% acidity)
1-1/2 Tbs whole cloves, in cheese cloth or tea ball
1/3 cup red hot cinnamon candies (or 4 cinnamon sticks)
1/2+ tsp red food coloring (optional, they do make organic)
Fruit Fresh *optional, to prevent darkening

Yield: About 5 to 6 pints
Procedure: Wash apples. To prevent discoloration, peel and slice one apple at a time. Immediately cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices, remove core area with a melon baller and immerse in ascorbic acid solution such as Fruit Fresh. (I used my apple peeler to peel/core/slice) To make flavored syrup, combine sugar water, vinegar, cloves (placed in cheesecloth or a tea ball), cinnamon candies, or cinnamon sticks and food coloring in a 6-qt saucepan/pot. Stir, heat to boil, and simmer 3 minutes.
Drain apples, add to hot syrup, and cook 5 minutes. Fill jars (preferably wide-mouth) with apple rings and hot flavored syrup, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Remove air from jars and adjust headspace once again, wipe rims well before applying lids. Process in a Boiling Waterbath Canner for 10 minutes or according to your local altitude/regulations.
Once timing is up on canner, let the jars set in your canner with burner off and lid removed for an extra 5-10 mins to help prevent against siphoning, carefully remove jars from canner and let cool in a draft free area for 12-24 hours before washing, labeling and storing sealed jars. Any jars that are unsealed need to be refrigerated and eaten first.