Part of the Thanksgiving series featuring Flour & Co Bakers and their favorite recipes.
The holidays, and my team, were so special at Flour & Co. I just couldn’t go through Thanksgiving without a look back at our time together, as well as sharing some Flour & Co Bakers’ favorite holiday recipes with you, like this Bourbon Apple & Pear Butter.
Meet Haley! She joined our team on the retail side with the goal of moving into the kitchen. As it happens in the bakery business, she accomplished her goal just one week later when we needed kitchen help on the fly. She was quick and eager to learn, and she brought such positive energy and enthusiasm to our bakery and baked with love for the year that she was with us. She carries that on in her own baking business.
Q&A with Haley:
What did Flour & Co mean to you? Flour & Co represented one of the happiest times in my life. I look back on my time there so fondly because I could not have asked for a better place to begin my baking career. I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to work with such a dedicated, talented team of women and be surrounded by such quality ingredients and delicious recipes.
What did you love about working at Flour & Co during the holidays? It represents everything I love about baking. Not only did I get to play a part in all of our guests’ celebrations, but I had so much fun working the long hours with my coworkers.
What was the hardest part of working at Flour & Co during the holidays? Being constantly pressed for time. I remember working long hours at the bakery, studying for finals, and trying to find time to go shopping for gifts and do other holiday-related activities with my friends and family. It definitely gets stressful!
What was your favorite holiday dessert or baked good from Flour & Co? Toasty Tarts! I loved making (and eating) the pear frangipane one we made during the holidays!
Bourbon Apple & Pear Butter
I made the first version of this jam when I worked at Flour & Co. I gave it to coworkers for Christmas. Looking back on the different versions of this I’ve created over the years, I’m so pleased that this final recipe is one of my all time favorites! ~Haley
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 3 cups 1x
- Category: Sides & Condiments
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds bosc pear
- 1 1/2 pounds sweet apple
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup (split)
- 1/4 cup + 1T apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup + 1T bourbon (split)
- 1 cup light brown sugar (split)
- 1 1/2 pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Peel the pears and apples; dice them into 1-inch pieces. Mix the fruit with 1/4 cup of the maple syrup, the apple cider vinegar, 1/2 cup of the bourbon, and 1/4 cup of the brown sugar.
- Spread the fruit onto a baking sheet and bake until the liquid is gone, about 30-35 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Place the vanilla extract, the rest of the bourbon, and the rest of the maple syrup, along with the cooked fruit into a food processor or blender. Puree, adding water as needed. At this point this is a very delicious apple sauce; no judgement if you stop here and eat!
- Place the apple sauce into a pot over medium heat and add the rest of the ingredients. Cook until a thick, spreadable consistency. This can take up to 20 minutes, depending on how much water was used.
- Let cool. Store in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.
Notes
For a simple, festive breakfast, mix a spoonful of this fruit butter with plain greek yogurt.
When eaten on Thanksgiving, this recipe is most delicious when paired with a freshly baked cheddar biscuit! I recommend Ina Garten’s recipe; it’s super easy to make.
To make this into gifts (yum), follow the recipe through #4, and then follow a traditional canning method for preserving the fruit butter in mason jars. Make a cute label and gift away!
Happy fruit butter making and Happy Thanksgiving! Tag #flourandco and #flourchildbakingco to share your version of this Bourbon Apple & Pear Butter.
