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Apple Butter is a favorite in our house, but when you have a bushels of pears in the tree – Pear Butter becomes a new family favorite. It’s possible I used pears that weren’t quite rip enough since the directions say after 2 hours mash or puree until smooth… there was NO mashing those pears after two hours on high. None. Instead I let it run on high overnight and then used my stick blender in the morning for some smooth butter. This made our house smell amazing. And let’s be honest – I love canning anything. Having shelves full of homemade goodies in the basement ready to freshen up our meals this winter? So good!

Spiced Crockpot Pear Butter
8 lbs of pears (peeled and cored you should end up with 6 quarts or 5 pounds of quarters – a large crockpot full)
1 cup sugar (optional)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon each cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice

Peel and core pears, then transfer to a 6 quart or larger crockpot
Add remaining ingredients, cover, and cook on high for about two hours, until pears are tender
Mash, blend, or purée until smooth
Turn crockpot to low, and replace list cocked to the side to allow steam to escape
Cook for 8-10 hours until butter has thickened, and become a nice, deep reddish brown
makes approximately 5 cups of pear butter

To can:
Transfer pear butter to pint or half pint jars
Wipe rims to insure there is no debris between rim and lid
Top with flat and ring, and twist lids on fairly tightly
Place into a pot with a canning bottom so that jars are not in direct contact with heat source
Fill pot with water to at least an inch above jar lids. Make sure that the water is as close to the same temperature as the pear butter as possible – if the butter is hot, use hot water, if the butter is cold, use cold water – to avoid jars breaking
Cover pot and bring to a rolling boil
Continue boiling for 10 minutes. Remove from hear and allow to cool inside canner for an hour or more if possible to avoid jars breaking when they come into contact with cool air
Leave rings on sealed jars at least 24 hours before removing to clean and dry jars for storage
Store in a cool dark place.