Vanilla Pear Liqueur

By Becky Jo

The pears on my kitchen floor reached critical ripeness phase and needed to be used or donated to the compost pile. I opted for a use that didn't require any finesse with the peeling and chopping. What you see here should become vanilla pear liqueur. It is steeping in a dark closet and will get strained and bottled in two week's time. I understand that it should be aged a bit after that, so it should be at it's peak around the holidays. I'll post a review as soon as tasting commences.

Ingredients

• This is not much of a recipe, but here goes:
• 15-20 ripe pears, slice off of the core
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 of a vanilla bean, seeds scraped out
• 1 really big bottle of cheapity-cheap store brand vodka

Details

Adapted from susan-susancancook.blogspot.com

Preparation

Step 1

Mix 1 cup of sugar, vanilla bean and seeds and a couple of cups of the vodka in a big jar and stir or shake to dissolve the sugar. Add the pears and top off with the vodka and the additional 1/4 cup of sugar. Shake to distribute sugar. Place in a cool dark place to steep for two weeks. Strain through coffee filters and bottle. Age for a while and then enjoy.