Oven-Roasted Peach Butter

Adapted from a recipe in "Food in Jars". Pretty simple and easily increased. Adjust the sugar to your own taste. I added 1/2 tsp. cinnamon to my first batch, based upon my husband's request, but other spices would do well, too. Be sure not to add them until after the peaches have reduced by cooking, the mixture shrinks quite a bit. Ten large peaches (weighing exactly four pounds) yielded 5 half-pints of butter. Next time UI plan to puree the roasted peaches, I prefer a smooth product and it turned out chunkier than I would prefer.

• Ready In: 4 hrs 10 mins
• Yields: 3 half-pints

Ingredients

• 3  lbs  yellow  peaches (freestone are easiest)
• 1 -2  cup granulated sugar (or as needed)
• 1  lemon, juice and zest of

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut the peaches in half and remove the pits. Arrange them cut-side-down in a single layer in a non-reactive baking dish (glass or ceramic is best). Roast for 30 minutes, or until the skins are loose. I usually allow 45 minutes, depending upon the size of the peaches.
2. Remove the baking dish from the oven and let the peaches cool a bit so they are easier to handle, then remove and discard the peach skins. Mash the peaches with a fork or potato masher. Reduce the oven to 250 degrees and return the pan of mashed peaches to it. Bake 2 to 3 hours longer, stirring often to prevent burning. Any wateriness should be gone and they should be dark in color.
3. Taste the puree and stir in 1 cup sugar. Taste again and add more sugar to suit your taste, then stir in the lemon zest and juice.
4. Store in the refrigerator or process filled half-pint jars in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes to make them shelf-stable.