I had my heart set on a cookie made with pears but couldn’t decide whether to buy pear jam or make my own filling. In the end, I went with homemade — and I’m so glad I did! This pear filling is warm, lightly spiced, and perfect for cookies, toast, or even ice cream. Making it from scratch lets me control the sweetness and texture, especially since I like my fruit filling chunky.
You won’t need pectin or anything fancy for this recipe—just fresh pears, lemon, a few warm spices, and some patience at the stove. It’s simple and versatile, with plenty of flavor.
Ingredients
- Bartlett pears
- Sugar
- Lemon zest
- Lemon juice
- Ground cinnamon
- Allspice
- Water
Prepping the Pears and Lemon
My pears were half green when I bought them, so I had to leave them out to ripen. I could have used the half green pears but I find them to be really firm and a little tart.
I start by quartering the pear, then use a paring knife to remove the skin.
Dice each quarter into small chunks. I usually slice each quarter into 4 or 5 thin strips, then chop those into smaller pieces.
This is the size of the pieces I used, but you can make them smaller if you like. Zest the lemon directly into a bowl, then cut it in half and juice both halves.
Moving on to make the pear filling.
Making the Filling
Grab a 3-quart saucepan. I also have a nice wooden spoon I use for stirring. Most of the time, you will be stirring. The goal is to reduce the liquid until it turns into a light syrup.
Add all the ingredients to your pan. Turn the heat on to medium-high and bring to a boil.
Keep stirring so that the sugar dissolves and has mixed with all the spices.
Bring to a low boil and keep stirring. This process could take anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes. This will reduce the liquid to a medium thick syrup.
I test for doneness by dragging the back of my wooden spoon across the bottom of the pan, if it takes 4 or 5 seconds for the liquid to fill the gap, it’s ready to come off the heat.
If you are using the pear filling for a thumbprint cookie, if the syrup is too thin or you add too much to the cookie’s center, it may create cracks as it bakes. The liquid syrup needs a place to go and it will run down the side of the cookie, causing small cracks.
You can also taste one piece of pear to make sure it is soft enough for your liking. You can always put the pan back on the heat and continue to reduce the syrup and soften the pear pieces more if needed.
Enjoy!
FAQs
Yes! I use Bartlett pears because they’re sweet and firm when ripe, which helps them hold up well when cooked. You can also try Bosc or Anjou for slightly different flavor and texture.
No. Unfortunately, canned pears are very soft and don’t hold up well during cooking. This homemade filling works best with fresh pear chunks.
Absolutely. You can reduce the sugar to ½ cup if you prefer a less sweet filling. Just note that it may cook a bit differently depending on how juicy your pears are.
Other Jams and Fillings
Recipe
Homemade Pear Filling
Barbara HallWould you like to save this recipe?
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Ingredients
- 3 Bartlett pears
- 1 cup (200 g) Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Lemon zest
- 1 Tablespoon Lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon Ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon Allspice
- ¼ cup (59.15 g) Water
Instructions
- Quarter and peel the skins off of your pears. Then, slice the quarters into thin slices and dice. You can decide how small you want to make the pieces. Next, zest and juice the lemon into two different bowls or container.
- In a 3-quart saucepan, add the diced pears, sugar, water, lemon zest and juice, cinnamon and the allspice. While stirring, bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Depending on how much liquid is in your pears will determine how long it will take to reduce the liquid to a syrup consistency. You want the pears to cook at a medium boil and it took my batch about 20 minutes.
- Continue to stir during the reduction phase. If you are using a wooden spoon to stir and you take the back of the spoon across the bottom of the pan. If you see the bottom of the pan for 4 seconds, take it off the heat. When checking the syrup, if it is too thin, just reheat for a little while longer to reduce the liquid more.
- Move to a glass container with a lid and put it in the refrigerator. I make the pear filling the day before so the flavors have overnight to absorb into the pears.
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NUTRITION DISCLAIMER
I am not a certified Dietitian or Nutritionist. The nutrition amounts given below are provided through a program and are only a guideline.
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