Warning you get is done by compiler, not by library (or utility method).
Simplest way using Jackson directly would be:
HashMap<String,Object> props;
// src is a File, InputStream, String or such
props = new ObjectMapper().readValue(src, new TypeReference<HashMap<String,Object>>() {});
// or:
props = (HashMap<String,Object>) new ObjectMapper().readValue(src, HashMap.class);
// or even just:
@SuppressWarnings("unchecked") // suppresses typed/untype mismatch warnings, which is harmless
props = new ObjectMapper().readValue(src, HashMap.class);
Utility method you call probably just does something similar to this.