Coarsely grind the chiles, bell pepper, and vinegar in a blender until in small chunks. Or chop the chiles and pepper finely and add to the vinegar.

Combine apricots, sugar, pureed mixture and small amount of butter in a large saucepan. Bring to rolling boil and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, skin off foam, and cool for 2 minutes. Stir in the pectin and food coloring, if using. Taste for heat and add a few or more drops of Tabasco, if using.

Pour into prepared half-pint jars. Cover with 2-part canning lids and process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Note: The original recipe calls for cutting the apricots into strips. While it looks really interesting that way, I prefer having them in smaller pieces. Also, without adding any food coloring this jam is a delightful pinkish peachy color.