Pear Applesauce

I have never been crazy about store bought applesauce since it resembles baby food too closely for me. This pear applesauce is almost like a preserve with its large pieces of pear and apple. The flavor is fantastic, just a little cinnamon and ginger to complement the sweetness of the fruit. Bonus: this is another recipe that will make it smell like fall exploded in your kitchen.

This is super easy to make too. Just toss all the ingredients in a

crockpot and break them up a little as they cook down. About an hour before the cooking time was up I just used a potato masher to get it to the desired consistency and then gave it a stir. If you want to make a double batch, I also think this would can or freeze really well.

The original recipe called for some added sugar, but if your pears are ripe the sauce is plenty sweet without any. If your pears are rock hard you can throw them all together into a brown paper bag for a day or two to speed up the ripening process (this trick works great for all kinds of under ripe fruit, just make sure to check them at least daily because they can go from ripe to rotten quickly).

The recipe yields around 4 cups of sauce and if you don't eat it all immediately (I found myself stealing spoonfuls every time I passed the fridge) it's really good swirled with yogurt or oatmeal. I used some of mine to try out a baked oatmeal recipe.

I'll be honest,  although I liked the hearty texture of baked oatmeal it was fairly dry and ho-hum without the help of more applesauce and some sugared pecans on top. I love the idea of baking something like this for a few days worth of breakfast or in advance for guests since it reheats really well. But next time I will pump up the spices significantly and stir some soaked raisins and nuts into the batter. So for now, I'll just share the applesauce until I feel the oatmeal is up to par.

Pear Applesauce
Yields about 4 cups
Adapted slightly from Cookin' Canuck's recipe 

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds Gala apples (about 5 medium), peeled, cored, and chopped
1 1/2 pounds Bartlett pears (about 5 medium), cored and chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 cup water

Directions

1. Toss everything into a crockpot and give it a good stir to incorporate the cinnamon and ginger.

2. Cook on high for 5 hours or low for 8. An hour or two before the cooking time is up, mash the softened fruit with a potato masher to your preferred consistency.