• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Cottage at the Crossroads

menu icon
go to homepage
  • Gardening
  • Recipes
  • Canning
  • DIY
  • Holidays
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Gardening
    • Recipes
    • Canning
    • DIY
    • Holidays
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
  • ×
    Home » Recipes » Sides

    Pear Apple Butter

    By: Jane · Updated: 19 Jun, '18 · This post may contain affiliate links · 14 Comments

    Sharing is caring!

    Faced with an abundance of pears from the tree in our yard, I began searching for a different way to use them. And this pear apple butter that I made turned out so darn delicious that I'm thinking that we need to plant a few more trees!

    Your toast will never be the same without this homemade pear apple butter! From cottage at the crossroads

    Oh, my heavens, I am having trouble finding the words to tell you how wonderful this is! It is so good that I am already planning on making another batch just as soon as I can get to the store to buy more apples. 

    Pear tree | cottage at the crossroads

    I will keep making this pear apple butter until I use up all these pears on our tree.

    Moonglow pears | cottage at the crossroads

    Since we moved here, I've always wondered what variety these pears were. But I think I now know after reading a local newspaper column about pears. I'm pretty sure this is the Moonglow variety that has been widely planted locally since it has good blight resistance.  The pears that it produces are always delicious, and this year they have been HUGE! So large that I always think that if I was standing under the tree when one of them fell, it would knock me out cold! Fortunately, that has not happened. 

    So in my quest to find a new use for the pears, I ran across a recipe in the new Fix-It and Forget-It Slow Cooker Magic cookbook (affiliate link) that the Good Book publishers sent me recently.  The recipe was called "Festive Applesauce" and it called for a mixture of apples and pears. And since I had never made homemade applesauce, I decided to give it a try. After looking at many other similar recipes, I came up with my own version. By the way, if you are looking for some new recipes for your slow cooker, this cookbook is filled with so many awesome sounding recipes!

    Apple pear butter | cottage at the crossroads

    To make the pear apple butter, you will need 5 large apples. I don't remember what variety I used, but you could use any cooking variety. Just peel, core, and chop them into large chunks.

    Apple pear butter | cottage at the crossroads

    And you will need some pretty pears! I ended up using 8 of them because I was trying to clear them off my counter!  Bartlett pears would work well in this recipe. Peel, core, and chop them as well. Throw the chopped pears and apples in a large slow cooker. I think mine is a 5 quart.  Next I sprinkled some ground ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon into the slow cooker and gave it a good stir. 

    Now, can I admit a mistake that I made??? I knew that I should add some apple cider to the mix but I got confused and added about ¼ cup apple cider VINEGAR! As soon as I added it, I realized my mistake but figured that I could correct it later. But isn't it a funny thing about mistakes. The little bit of vinegar added a nice twang at the end and I would definitely recommend it! Hehe!

    Apple pear butter | cottage at the crossroads

    Then I turned my slow cooker on HIGH and set it for 4 hours. About every hour or so, I would go in and give everything a stir, and this is how the mixture looked after cooking for that amount of time. After letting it cool down, I put it in the refrigerator overnight. 

    Apple pear butter | cottage at the crossroads

    The next morning, I put it in my food processor (in 2 batches) to make it smoother. You could use a blender to do this if you don't have a food processor. 

    Apple pear butter | cottage at the crossroads

    To this mixture, I added 1 cup of light brown sugar, 1 cup apple cider, and ¼ cup molasses. Since I wanted the mixture to cook down, I propped the top of the slow cooker open by using a wooden spoon and set it to cook for 4 hours on HIGH.  At the end of that time, I didn't think it was quite as thick as I'd like (I was aiming for more of a spread consistency rather than apple sauce) so I took the top off and cooked it for 2 more hours, stirring occasionally. 

    Apple pear butter | cottage at the crossroads

    And at the end of that time, I had a wonderful, dark brown, delicious butter! The volume had reduced by at least ½ and was nice and thick. 

    Homemade apple pear butter | cottage at the crossroads

    I could hardly wait to spread it on some toast! Oh yum! It was twice as good as any apple butter that you can buy in the store! 

    Homemade pear apple butter | cottage at the crossroads

    I ended up with 3 pint jars of the most wonderful spread that I've ever eaten. 

    Homemade apple pear butter | cottage at the crossroads

    As the pear apple butter was cooking yesterday, the house was filled with the most wonderful smells of autumn. 

    Homemade pear apple butter | cottage at the crossroads

    If you're planning on making some of this butter, start early in the morning on a day when you can just wander in and out of the kitchen from time to time to give it a stir. 

    Such a simple mix of ingredients that creates one of the tastiest things that I've had in a long time. If you give the jars as gifts, be sure to include directions to refrigerate and use the pear apple butter within 3 weeks. 

     

    Pear Apple Butter

    Pear apple butter square1 1

    a delicious spread for toast or biscuits or a side dish for pork or chicken

    • 8 large pears (peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped)
    • 5 large apples (peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped)
    • ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
    • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
    • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
    • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
    • ½ teaspoon ground cloves
    • 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
    • ¼ cup molasses
    • 1 cup apple cider
    1. Put the chunks of pears and apples in a large, 5 quart slow cooker.
    2. Add the apple cider vinegar and the spices and stir to evenly distribute the spices.
    3. Cook on HIGH for 4 hours.
    4. Allow to cool and then spoon the mixture (in 2 batches) into a food processor or blender and puree.
    5. Return the mixture to the slow cooker and add the brown sugar, molasses, and the apple cider.
    6. Stir to completely mix the ingredients.
    7. Cook on HIGH for 6 hours with the top propped open, stirring occasionally.
    8. Allow to cool before adding to glass jars.
    9. Store in the refrigerator and use within 3 weeks.

    Don't be tempted to omit the molasses. It gives the butter a richer, smoky flavor!

    Adapted from Fix-It and Forget-It Slow Cooker Magic

    More Sides

    • How to can salsa square 1
      Spice Things Up With This Delicious Homemade Canned Salsa
    • Grated sweet potato pudding square
      Grated Sweet Potato Pudding
    • German potato salad with bacon
      Warm German Potato Salad with Bacon
    • Garden fresh orzo salad
      Lemony Garden Fresh Orzo Salad

    Sharing is caring!

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Leave a Reply Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    1. Mona

      September 27, 2015 at 1:48 pm

      Thank you Jane. I made this and we absolutely love it.

      Reply
      • Jane Windham

        September 27, 2015 at 2:37 pm

        Thank you so much for coming back to give me your feedback, Mona! I have made several batches of the pear apple butter and now I'm thinking that I'll make an applesauce cake with some of it. I'll post the recipe if it turns out well.

        Reply
    2. Nancy

      September 02, 2015 at 10:26 am

      Oh how lucky you are to have a producing pear tree!!
      With our drought we have lost a couple of producing trees...an apple and a peach and a cherry.
      Pears haven't done well here in the past...
      Your pear butter reminds me of the years I have made apple butter.....haven't made pear butter, looks wonderful!!
      Thank you for reminding me of yummy Fall treats!
      Nancy
      wildoakdesigns.blogspot.com

      Reply
    3. Ann

      August 28, 2015 at 10:41 pm

      How long did you process your next batch? I'm going to make this for sure, but want to keep it longer too. ????

      Reply
    4. Mary

      August 26, 2015 at 5:19 am

      Sounds wonderful! I have pear tree envy too 🙂

      Reply
    5. Barb

      August 25, 2015 at 12:16 pm

      This recipe sounds so good i just copied it off to try it. I am guessing you could make the recipe with just apples if you didn't have any pears, so i might try it like that when I get some apples in, but either way it looks delicious. My mom always made apple butter every year or so but in those days I never paid much attention to how she did it except she cooked it for a long time. But I have a slow cooker so that makes it easier than having to keep an eye on it constantly cooking on top the stove. Thanks so much for the recipe!

      Reply
    6. Jean Windham

      August 24, 2015 at 8:27 pm

      Jane this looks wonderful so I cannot wait to try some. The combination of apple and pear must be just perfect together. My favorite has been apple butter on toast or biscuits but it sounds like I will be making a change. Thanks for sharing.

      Reply
    7. Dolly

      August 24, 2015 at 12:31 pm

      I just saved and am so glad to have this recipe. What a wonderful thing that happens when we make mistakes that turn out to be some of the best things we cook!

      Reply
    8. Patty

      August 24, 2015 at 12:12 pm

      This sounds so delicious but I was wondering if I could "can" this recipe so I could keep it longer?

      Reply
      • Jane Windham

        August 24, 2015 at 6:52 pm

        Patty, I was thinking the same thing. I think I'll process the next batch so that I can save all this deliciousness!

        Reply
        • Ann

          September 03, 2015 at 8:55 pm

          How long do you process this? I made it today and it's delicious! ????

          Reply
    9. Kris @ Junk Chic Cottage

      August 24, 2015 at 9:13 am

      Jane,
      You are so lucky to have all your wonderfully grown fruits and veggies. This sounds so yummo! Have a great start to the new week ahead.
      Kris

      Reply
    10. Jean

      August 24, 2015 at 7:34 am

      Love your Pear Apple Butter! Have a wonderful day!

      Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    Jane @ Cottage at the Crossroads

    We're Jane and Leo!

    Thanks for stopping by! We're renovating and preserving our family's 100 year old home place where we garden, complete a few DIY projects, and do some cooking. Please leave us a comment so that we'll know that you were here.

    about →

    Reader Favorites

    • Setting up a gardening journal
      How to Set Up a Garden Journal
    • Wooden garden obelisks
      DIY Wooden Garden Obelisk
    • Sweet cucumber relish featured
      Sweet Cucumber Relish
    • Cucumbers in raised beds
      Growing Cucumbers in Raised Beds

    Gardening How-tos

    • Best way to remove weeds from large area
      Best Ways To Remove Weeds From a Large Area
    • Potting mix vs. Potting soil
      Potting Mix vs. Potting Soil
    • How to dry and store fresh garden herbs
      How To Dry Herbs
    • 1
      Instant Pot Canning Basics

    Growing Vegetables

    • Fall decor 063
      Our Fall Vegetable Garden
    • Garden and yard may 2013 132
      Evolution of a Garden
    • Celebrity tomatoes in cages
      How to Grow Your Own Tomatoes
    • Growing lettuce in containers 030
      Growing Lettuce in Containers

    Footer

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    © 2021 Cottage at the Crossroads · All Rights Reserved

    Contact Us · Privacy

    132 shares