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Easy Slow Cooker Spiced Pear Butter Recipe

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This slow cooker spiced pear butter is a forgiving, flexible fall staple that turns a simple pile of pears into a velvety, spiced jam perfect for spreading on toast, stirring into oatmeal, or gifting. It’s naturally gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan, with a deep, complex flavor from low and slow cooking.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 4 pounds ripe pears (about 8–10 medium pears, peeled, cored, and chopped) — preferably Bartlett or Bosc
  • 1 cup granulated sugar (or ¾ cup honey or maple syrup)
  • ¼ cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (preferably Saigon cinnamon)
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg (freshly grated preferred)
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 vanilla bean pod (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)

Instructions

  1. Prep the pears (15 minutes): Wash, peel, core, and chop pears into rough 1-inch chunks. Toss with a little lemon juice to prevent browning.
  2. Combine everything in the slow cooker (5 minutes): Add chopped pears to slow cooker. Sprinkle granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt over the top. Pour in lemon juice. If using vanilla bean, split lengthwise, scrape seeds into pot, and toss pod in. Stir well.
  3. Cook on low for 6-8 hours: Cover and cook on low. After 4 hours, stir. Pears should be very soft and almost falling apart at 6 hours.
  4. Puree the mixture (10 minutes): Use an immersion blender to puree until smooth directly in the slow cooker. If using a regular blender, let cool 15 minutes, then blend in batches.
  5. Thicken on low with the lid off (1-2 hours): Turn slow cooker to low, prop lid open with a wooden spoon handle. Stir every 20 minutes until butter coats the back of a spoon and a line drawn through it holds.
  6. Test for doneness (5 minutes): Spoon a small amount onto a cold plate. If no liquid separates around the edges, it’s done.
  7. Add vanilla extract (if using): Remove vanilla bean pod if used. Stir in vanilla extract if using.
  8. Cool and jar (20 minutes): Let cool in slow cooker for 20 minutes. Ladle into clean jars, leaving ½ inch headspace. Wipe rims, screw on lids, and let cool completely on counter.

Notes

Don’t skip the lid-off thickening step; it transforms the texture from sauce to butter. Adjust spices to taste—cloves are potent, so start with ¼ teaspoon. Use ripe but not mushy pears. The butter tastes better after a day or two in the fridge as flavors meld.

Nutrition

Keywords: pear butter, slow cooker, spiced, fall recipe, homemade jam, fruit butter, easy, vegan, gluten-free

Find it online: https://vexifood.com/easy-slow-cooker-spiced-pear-butter-recipe/