Some of us may be resting after a whirlwind of holiday baking, but the sweet recipes never stop in Hannah Kaminsky’s kitchen. She created this surprisingly wintery maple pear butter recipe in the midst of summer, but we thought it was a perfect way to prevent those overzealous gift baskets of dried fruit from going to waste. And of course, it is a perfectly delicious spread to enjoy with some freshly baked scones, slathered on a thick slice of toast, or dolloped on pancakes for a relaxing Sunday morning.
Hannah writes:
Ricki, of Diet, Dogs, and Desserts and the brand new book Sweet Freedom, made the brilliant suggestion to turn some of my excess dried fruit into fruit butter. You could probably have heard me smack my forehead from miles away when I read that! Seemingly so obvious, and yet something that I would have never thought of, it was an absolutely perfect solution for dealing with that bulky bag of shriveled pears. Racing to turn on the stove and get this fruity spread going, the hardest part of the whole process is probably just waiting for the contents of the pot to cook!
Special Diet Notes: Vegan Maple Pear Butter
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, nut-free, peanut-free, soy-free, vegan, plant-based, and vegetarian.
- 12 ounces dried pear halves (about 3 cups)
- 2 cups unsweetened apple juice
- 1 vanilla bean
- Juice of ½ lemon
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- Combine all of the above ingredients in a large pot, and bring it to a simmer.
- Cook gently for about 15 minutes, until all of the dried pears are soft and rehydrated, stirring the mixture occasionally.
- Let cool for a few minutes, and then transfer everything into your food processor or blender, and thoroughly puree.
- The mixture will be extremely thick, so make sure that you scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice to get things entirely smooth.
- Spoon the pear butter into clean jars, and seal tightly.
- Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, where it will continue to thicken slightly as it cools.
