I wanted to make a cookie with pears and I was having a hard time deciding whether to find pear jam or make my own filling. I opted to make my own.
This is also great on ice cream, bagels, and toast. I like to make my own fresh fruit filling because I can control the sugar amount.
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 using a paring knife taking the skin off. This way, you just have the pear.
Dice each quarter into small pieces. I slice the quarter into maybe 4 or 5 slices, then cut them into small pieces.
This is the size of the pieces I used, but you can make them smaller if you like. Next, take the lemon and zest it first into the bowl. Now 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. You want to reduce the liquid until it becomes more of a 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 if it is done by dragging the back of my wooden spoon across the bottom of the pan and if it takes 4 or 5 second for the liquid to fill in that path; I take the pan off the heat.
If you are using the pear filling for a thumbprint cookie, the thinner the syrup and the more syrup you fill in the cookie's hole, it will create cracks when it is baked. 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!
FAQ's
Yes, I use bartlett pears because they are sweet when ripe and the flesh is pretty firm. This holds up well when cooked. But you could also use Bosc or Anjou.
No. unfortunately the canned pears or very soft and will not hold up when cooking the filling. With my homemade pear filling, you want the chunks of pears.
Yes, you could drop the sugar amount to ½ cup if you prefer a less sweet pear filling.
Other Jams and Fillings
Recipe
Homemade Pear Filling
Barbara HallWould you like to save this recipe?
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Ingredients
- 3 (3) Bartlett pears
- 1 cup (200 g) Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon (1 Tablespoon) Lemon zest
- 1 Tablespoon (1 Tablespoon) Lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) Ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon (0.13 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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