My family love apple butter, but this year I had extra pears and was tired of making pearsauce, so I made apple pear butter. I combined a few different methods and the result was fabulous! Best part about this recipe….NO PEELING OR CORING REQUIRED! Yes, it’s true! So easy. Let’s get started.

Start by cutting up all your pears and apples. DON’T peel or core them! I know…sounds wierd, but bear with me here!

After cutting them up, mix them up with the sugar and spices. Dump everything into a crockpot. It will all break down in the next day or so then you can blend it up. By leaving on the skin & not coring you leave lots of vitamins and fiber that will be in the butter! I used a mixture of Gala & Macintosh apples in mine. Doesn’t it look pretty?

Cover and let it cook for 24 hours on low. By this time, it will look like this, and your house will smell INCREDIBLE.

At this point I like to take the lid off and let it cook for about an hour or so like that to let some extra moisture evaporate. Now all you do is use blender or food processor to blend it up nice and smooth!

I canned mine in half pint jars. Looks so pretty, eh? Delicious too. Our favorite way to eat apple pear butter is on toast, pancakes, and even peanut butter sandwiches!

(See that applesauce in the back of the photo? Check out my post I did last year on making homemade applesauce to learn how.)

NOTE: Make sure your pears are nice and ripe, or your butter will be grainy.

Apple Pear Butter
(recipe adapted from Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving)

4 lbs apples, chopped up, NOT peeled or cored
2 lbs pears, chopped up, NOT peeled or cored
1 cup sugar (you can add more for super sweet but 1 c. is fine really)
1 Tbl. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. ginger

Place all ingredients into a large bowl and stir to incorporate. Dump into a crockpot and set on low. Cook on low for around 24 hours, stirring a few times. When nice and thick, blend up smooth.

To can your apple pear butter, prepare your canner, jars, and lids. If you are new to canning, read the basic here. Ladle the hot butter into the jars, making sure to leave about 1/4 inch headspace for expansion. Remove air bubbles with a knife. Clean the rim of the jar with a wet paper towel, and place hot lids on the jar and screw the band down. Place jars in a water bath canner and process for 20 minutes.

(Check your elevation for processing time. This is my elevation time. It is important to process according to your elevation in order to safely preserve your food).

This butter also freezes well if you do not wish to can it. Recipe makes approx. 4 pints.