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Spiced pear butter in a glass jar with a spoon, toast and whole pears

Crockpot Pear Butter

Smooth, spiced pear butter made in the slow cooker: cooked covered until soft, blended, then thickened with the lid off.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 9 hours
Total Time 9 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 48 servings (2 tbsp)
Course: Spread
Cuisine: American
Calories: 40
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 5 lb ripe pears peeled, cored and chopped (about 12 cups)
  • 1 cup light brown sugar packed
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/4 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp lemon zest finely grated
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method
 

  1. Peel, core and roughly chop the pears.
  2. Combine the pears, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt and lemon zest in a 6-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, until completely soft.
  3. Blend until completely smooth with an immersion blender (or in batches in a blender, venting the lid).
  4. Cook on high, uncovered, for 1 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until a spoonful holds its shape on a cold plate.
  5. Stir in the vanilla, spoon into clean jars, cool, then refrigerate.

Notes

Storage: refrigerate in clean covered jars and use within about a week; freeze for longer, leaving headspace.
Canning: for shelf-stable jars, follow a tested home canning procedure.
Substitutions: replace up to half the pears with apples; reduce the sugar if the pears are very ripe.
No slow cooker: simmer in a heavy pot, blend, then cook uncovered over low heat, stirring often.
Nutrition: calories are an estimate calculated from standard ingredient values, not a laboratory analysis.