Vanilla Pear Butter Recipes

Steps:

• Wash 8-10 pint jars in hot soapy water or in dish washer.
• Keep hot until needed.
• Prepare lids as manufacturer directs.
• Place in a 6-quart pot.
• Pour orange juice over fruit.
• Stir in orange peel, sugar, spices and seed of vanilla bean.
• Use a hand blender if need be to get a nice smooth puree.
• Stirring constantly over medium heat, bring to a boil.
• Ladle into hot jars 1 at a time, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.
• Release trapped air.
• Wipe rim of jars with a clean damp cloth.
• Attach lid.
• Place in canner.
• Process in a boiling-water bath.
• For 15 minutes.

Steps:

• Make topping:
• Pulse together flour, almonds, brown sugar, and salt in a food processor until nuts are finely chopped. Add butter and pulse just until blended. Coarsely crumble in a shallow baking pan and chill at least 1 hour.
• Make filling and bake crisps:
• Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in middle.
• Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into a small heavy saucepan, then add pod and butter and cook over medium-low heat, swirling pan occasionally, until butter is browned and fragrant, about 4 minutes.
• While butter browns, stir together sugars, flour, and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Add pears and brandy and toss to combine.
• Discard vanilla pod, then toss butter with pear mixture. Spoon filling into gratin dishes and sprinkle with topping, mounding it slightly in centers. Put in a shallow baking pan and bake 30 minutes, then rotate baking sheet and bake until topping is golden brown and filling is bubbling, 10 to 15 minutes more. Cool to warm or room temperature on a rack.

Steps:

• Drain pears, reserving 1/2 cup syrup; combine pears and syrup in small saucepan along with vanilla extract. Simmer mixture gently for 15 minutes, or until pears are tender. Remove pan from heat. Using a fork or potato masher, mash pears.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). Grease a large 6-cup muffin pan or regular 12-cup muffin pan with butter.
• To make topping, combine the sugar, walnuts, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside.
• To make the muffins, stir together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
• In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla until blended.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring just until evenly moistened. The batter will be slightly lumpy.
• Using a large silicone spatula, gently fold in the pears and walnuts just until evenly distributed, no more than a few strokes. Take care not to break up the fruit or overmix.
• Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling them level with the rim. Sprinkle the muffins with the topping, dividing it evenly. Bake until golden, dry, and springy to the touch, 20-25 minutes. A wooden skewer inserted into the center of a muffin should come out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Turn out the muffins. Serve warm or at room temperature, with butter.

Steps:

• Peel, core and quarter the pears. (While you're doing this, add the cut pieces to a large bowl of water with some lemon juice squeezed in, to prevent darkening.).
• Drain the pears, and transfer them to the work bowl of a food processor. Pulse them a few times. You're looking to get them chopped, not to puree them.
• Grate a couple pinches of fresh nutmeg over the sugar.
• Add the pears, sugar, and lemon juice to a large pot, and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
• Simmer 40 minutes. You may have to stir frequently to prevent burning.
• Remove the mixture from the heat, and stir in the vanilla extract.
• Spoon into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch head space. Wipe the jar rims and adjust the lids.
• Process in boiling water for 10 minutes.