Pear Hot Toddies

Argh that there glass makes me want some meat on a stick

On with our quest to use up an overstock of homemade jam. Katherine recently used pear preserves to create a champagne cocktail, so when we were given a batch of homemade pear butter we made a similar concoction to give the traditional Hot Toddy a distinctly fall twist. The recipe below serves two.

Pear Hot Toddies

• 3 ounces brandy
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/3 cup pear butter or preserves
• boiling water

Mix pear butter with a third cup water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer for five minutes. Strain mixture through a fine mesh sieve. (If you don’t want to waste the discarded bits, through them in a batch of muffins.) Set tea kettle to boil. Divide pear mix between two large coffee mugs. Add a half teaspoon lemon juice to each mug and one and a half ounces of brandy. Fill with boiling water. Garnish with lemon or pear slices.