I love making homemade gifts for my family and friends, and this year we had an abundance of pears! I had never tried making pear butter before (kind of a cross between applesauce and jam) and I thought it sounded really good!
My “secret” ingredient for this one was collagen (and YES, you can leave it out, it won’t affect the recipe). A lot of the family members I was planning to gift it to use my collagen daily, so I thought it would be a perfect combo.
I know it might sound odd to add collagen to this, but it’s such a great supplement to get more of for our bones, joints and skin – and it has zero taste or smell and dissolves completely into whatever you add it to. I am using the one I make: Full Body Collagen.
I also used a monk fruit/allulose sweetener that I got from the grocery store to make this recipe lower in sugar than your average fruit preserve. I’ve been working with that sugar alternative for a few months now, and it has a great 1:1 sugar replacement ratio and adds just as much sweetness without the same sugar impact.
I do can my pear butter using a water bath method – but you could also skip the canning and make it to eat right away – simply refrigerate it. I’ve been enjoying my pear spread on crackers, over Greek yogurt, and straight out of the jar!
You can watch me make this right here.
Low Sugar Pear Butter with Collagen
Yield: 10 cups
You will need: large and small mixing bowls, crockpot, measuring cups and spoons, immersion blender or regular blender
Key: T=Tablespoon; tsp=teaspoon
1: Start with:
- 6-7 lbs pears, de-seeded and evenly chopped into 1/2 inch pieces. Place the pear slices in a large bowl.
2: In a separate bowl, mix:
- 2/3 cup brown sugar of choice, (I used a monk fruit/allulose blend)
- 3 T cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp cardamom
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
3: Pour the sugar mixture over the pears, and combine everything together. Stir in:
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 cup water
4: Add to everything to your crockpot, and set on high for 4 hours, stirring about once per hour.
5: Use an immersion blender to blend everything together (or transfer to a regular blender and blend until smooth). Once you’ve got an even consistency, blend in:
- 10 servings Full Body Collagen (optional)
6: Distribute into jars of your preferred size and optionally can with your preferred canning method (I used a water bath, and small jars).
This was such a fun project and so good!Let me know if you try it – and if you like hand made gifts, what other fun ideas have you made? I’d love to hear!
Full Body Collagen is in my personal daily rotation because of its amazing protective benefits for our skin, joints and bones. It’s really versatile in that it is flavorless, can be mixed in anything and dissolves completely and instantly.
