Brandied Peaches

For our 10th anniversary, TheWife and I visited the small Texas town of Fredericksburg and its surrounding tourist attractions. This time of year, the entire area is full of peach orchards and farmers selling their wares. Most people think of Georgia when they think of peaches, but believe it or not, Central Texas has a very good peach growing area as well as grapefruit.

After buying a gigantic box of peaches, I figured I'd have a little fun with some alcohol. No doubt TheWife will be making cobbler (recipe to come).

Ingredients:

• 4-5 medium firm-ripe peaches
  
• 1 cup sugar
  
• 1/4 cup water
  
• 1 1/2 cups brandy

Depending on the size of your peaches, this recipe may require 4 to 5 jelly-size mason jars with discs and screw on lids. With this procedure, I did not want to preserve them for all eternity, just a level of preservation that is good for a month in the fridge.

Peel peaches: Cut a small x in the blossom end of each peach. Place peaches in boiling water for about 30 seconds. Remove from boiling water and quickly submerge in ice cold water for a few minutes, or until cool enough to handle. The skin should slip off. Cut peaches in half and remove pit. Dice peaches and put in a sterilized 1-quart Mason-type jar.

In a saucepan bring the sugar and water to a boil over low heat, washing down any sugar crystals clinging to the sides with a brush dipped in cold water until the sugar is dissolved. Simmer the syrup for 3 minutes and remove it from the heat. Add 1/2 cup brandy, 2 tablespoons at a time, stirring, and let it cool. Stir in the remaining 1 cup brandy.

Pour the syrup over the peaches. Add more brandy if necessary to cover completely. Seal the jar with the lid and store in the fridge for up to a month.