Throw a twist into your usual apple butter and add pears! This spiced apple pear butter is creamy, smooth, and deep in flavor! Spiced apple pear butter is a slow cooked fruit spread perfect with toast, in sandwiches, with crackers or on a cheese board. Pears and apples come together with spices in this easy to make Crock Pot recipe.
Why this recipe works
Preserving doesn’t have to involve complicated equipment. This recipe for spiced apple-pear butter is easy to prepare and then the slow cooker does the work. You could use an Instant Pot as well.
A crock pot is an excellent way to make fruit butters; the long, slow cooking time lets the fruit break-down while the flavor deepens. Don’t stop at apples and pears– you can make peach butter, mango butter or pumpkin butter too.
Ingredients
- Apples: What kind of apples are best to use? Nearly any variety will work in this fruit spread. My favorites are Honeycrisp. You could use Gala, Granny Smith, Lucy Gold, any kind that you enjoy eating. The fruit doesn’t need to keep its shape while it cooks. In fact, you want the apples to break down easily.
- Pears: The same advice goes for the pears. Use the pears that are fresh from the orchard or grocery store. I wouldn’t recommend canned pears in this recipe.
- Maple syrup: A dark, high quality maple syrup gives this apple pear butter a deep, autumn flavor. If you don’t have maple syrup, you can substitute 2-3 Tablespoons of brown sugar.
- Spices: Gather your favorite warm, fall spices like cinnamon and ginger. Other options include cloves or nutmeg.
How to make Spiced Apple Pear Butter
- Wash, cut in half, and remove the cores from the apples and pears. Chop into chunks.No need to peel the fruit.
- Place the pieces of fruit into the slow cooker. Add the maple syrup and spices as well as 1/2 cup water.
- Cover and cook on low for 3-5 hours.
- Puree with an immersion blender.
- You will likely need to reduce the fruit butter further at this point. Prop the lid of the slow cooker open and cook on low for another hour or until the butter reaches your desired consistency. Use these silicone lid lifters— they are my favorite! (Affiliate link)
- Store in mason jars in the refrigerator.
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Tips and Tricks for Success!
Yes, if you would like to make a sauce similar to applesauce but with these apples and pears, you won’t need to prop the lid open to cook the mixture down to such a thick consistency.
Cooking times on crock pots vary so keep an eye on the color and texture of your fruit butter, checking frequently and stirring every two hours.
I know, I know, you are not supposed to remove the lid from a crock pot while it is cooking as you lose a lot of the heat that has built up inside but I find that with fruit butters it helps to stir the mixture so the bottom layer doesn’t burn.
Mix up the choice of spices– cinnamon, ginger, all spice, cloves, or nutmeg would all be lovely.
Sizes of your apples and pears will differ. This is a flexible recipe and you can cook the mixture down to whatever consistency you’d like regardless of how many pieces of fruit you started with. Aim for a total of three pounds of fruit– a combination of pears and apples.
No, you don’t have to take the skin off the fruit. It softens and purees into the fruit butter without any problem. Of course, if you wish to peel the fruit first, go ahead and do so.
Store this fruit butter in the refrigerator in mason jars or other air-tight containers.
Store this in the refrigerator for a few weeks.
This recipe tends to produce 4 cups of apple pear butter. The amount you make will depend on how long you cook down the mixture. If you like a very thick fruit butter you may make closer to 3 cups.
I do not have the data on the acidity levels of this exact recipe so I can’t guarantee it will process safely. Saying that, I think this recipe is similar to other apple butter recipes that can very well in a water bath canner. I’d love to hear if you give that a try.
Spiced Apple Pear Butter
Spiced apple pear butter is a way to capture flavor of seasonal fruits to save for another time.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds mixed apples such as Fuji, Gala and Honeycrisp, washed and cored
- 1 pound Bartlett pears, washed and cored
- 1/2 cup apple juice or cider, or water
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 tablespoons grade A dark amber maple syrup
Instructions
- Cut fruit into chunks.
- Add all ingredients to the slow cooker
- Cook on low for 3 to 5 hours.
- Puree with an immersion blender.
- If you'd like a thicker consistency continue to cook the fruit butter in the slow cooker. Prop open the lid with a wooden spoon or silicone lid lifter and cook on low for another hour. Stir frequently.
- Store in mason jars in the refrigerator.
Notes
- Mix up the choice of spices-- cinnamon, ginger, all spice, cloves, or nutmeg would all be lovely.
- Sizes of your apples and pears will differ. This is a flexible recipe and you can cook the mixture down to whatever consistency you'd like regardless of how many pieces of fruit you started with.
- Do I need to peel the apples and pears? No, you don't have to take the skin off the fruit. It softens and purees into the fruit butter without any problem. Of course, if you wish to peel the fruit first, go ahead and do so.
- How do I store apple pear butter? Store this fruit butter in the refrigerator in mason jars or other air-tight containers.
- How long does this last? Store this in the refrigerator for a few weeks.
- How many jars does this make? This recipe tends to produce 4 cups of apple pear butter. The amount you make will depend on how long you cook down the mixture. If you like a very thick fruit butter you may make closer to 3 cups.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
32Serving Size:
2 tablespoonsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 40Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 1mgCarbohydrates: 10gFiber: 2gSugar: 8gProtein: 0g
This data is provided by Nutritionix and is an estimate only.
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Please note that this post was originally published in September, 2015 and was updated November, 2020.
Holly Baker started the food blog, A Baker’s House, in 2011. She is the writer, recipe creator, and photographer for the site. Holly loves to bake and shares recipes for gluten free food, canning recipes, as well as traditional desserts too. Her recipes and food photography have been highlighted by BuzzFeed, Reader’s Digest, and She Knows.
Abbe @ This is How I Cook
Thursday 24th of September 2015
Well, I think I better buy a slow cooker just so I can make this. It sounds wonderful, Holly. I went once with Zoe to a gorgeous app!e and pumpkin farm near Philly. They know how to do it out there!
Holly F
Tuesday 6th of October 2015
Oh I wonder if you went to the same pumpkin farm that I have gone to nearly every year-- Linvilla Orchards. I just visited there recently when were home for my brother's wedding. Pumpkins will be in all their glory right now and in other seasons we love the apples there, the rhubarb pies, and the berry picking.
Karen Harris
Thursday 24th of September 2015
I love picking my own fruit so much that we have planted cherry and apple trees in our yard. Even though we paid for larger trees it will still be a few years until we will have enough fruit to do anything with. Your apple pear butter looks wonderful. It will no doubt be a great treat this winter.
Holly F
Thursday 24th of September 2015
Oh I am jealous of your fruit trees! I hope they produce fruit quickly and for many years to come! We had plenty of fruit trees in the more exotic places we've lived but it doesn't dawn on me that they could also flourish here in Colorado. I will have to see if we can squeeze some in our tiny yard.