How a Giant Shoulder Shrug Brought the Spark Back to My Kitchen

I love a good “f&%$ it” moment. It often leads to some of my favorite things. Letting go of the limiting beliefs and stories that keep us trapped in the cycle of shoulding all over ourselves, and freeing up space for play and creativity, is where magic happens.

Case in point: these roasted peaches. They were a long time in the making, but totally worth the wait.

It all started in 2021 when I purchased one of my favorite creator’s cookbooks, The Book on Pie by Erin Jeanne McDowell (buy it, you won’t be sorry), and was fascinated by a recipe she had for a roasted strawberry pie. I watched her video where she talked about roasting strawberries, I tried it, and was hooked! I was surprised to find out that roasted strawberries tasted more like strawberries than fresh strawberries do! 

Fast forward to the summer of 2023: I was in a giant creative rut brought about by some difficult life circumstances. Then I got my hands on a bunch of Palisade Peaches (BEST FRUIT EVER!), but they were underripe (sad). I figured, why not try roasting them? Honestly, I didn’t even take the time to peel them, I just diced them up and chucked them into a 9x13 with a sprinkle of brown sugar, a touch of cinnamon, fresh orange juice, and a vanilla bean. Literally measured nothing. What can I say? I am an apron-clad rebel. 

My friends, a star was born that day. No overly precise measurements, no mad scientist at work adjusting minute details, just the audacity to f&%$ around and find out. I have since used these roasted peaches in cookies, muffins, scones, on top of ice cream, as cake filling, and more! The possibilities are ENDLESS! All it takes is the audacity to shrug and say, “Let’s f%&$ around and find out.”

I truly hope you enjoy this recipe. It is one of my absolute favorite things to make with our fresh CO peaches, but you can make it any time of year, because roasting fruit is the best way to use things like strawberries and peaches from frozen or when they are under ripe or out of season. 

Check out this video for a demo. And go into your kitchen, shrug, say “f&%$ it”, and make something magical (or not, no judgements). Comment below and tell me what you make with this scrumptious concoction.  

Roasted Peaches

Yield approx. 2 cups

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 3-4 hours

Chill Time 2 hours - overnight 

Ingredients:

1800 grams (4 lbs) peaches, slightly underripe*

Juice of 1 orange*

50g brown sugar (light or dark)

½ tsp fine sea salt

½ tsp cinnamon

1 vanilla bean* (or 1 tsp vanilla bean paste) 

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 325º.
2. Wash and peel the peaches. I like to just use a veggie peeler to get the skin off, but you can also blanch them, then shock in ice water and peel by hand that way.
3. Dice the peaches into mostly uniform chunks. The easiest way to do this is to cut off a large slab from one side, getting as close to the pit as you can, then rotating and continuing this procedure on the other sides. Then cut those slabs into strips and from there to cubes. The size of your dice is flexible but the larger the dice, the bigger the chunks after they cook down. So take that into consideration when dicing. I recommend about ½ - ¾” cubes.
4. Place the diced peaches into a large oven-safe pan. I like to use my glass 9”x13”, but this works with sheet pans too as long as there is a good lip on the sides. Remember, these peaches will get juicer before they start to cook down, so make sure the juice is contained.
5. Add all the rest of the ingredients to the pan with the peaches. Scrape the seed from the vanilla pod and chuck the cleaned pod in there with the peaches. If using vanilla bean paste, wait to add it at the end of roasting.
6. Mix to combine, making sure to thoroughly coat the fruit and distribute the ingredients. This helps break down the cell structure of the peaches, as well as allowing the sugar to maximize its ability to pull the juices out of the fruit. 
7. Roast for 3-4 hours, stirring every 30 minutes to keep pieces from sticking to the edge of the pan and to keep the heat distribution even. The exact time depends on how juicy your peaches are—you're aiming for soft, jammy fruit with glossy, syrupy juices and very little visible liquid.
8. Allow the peaches to cool in the pan for 30+ minutes, then transfer to a container and allow to cool to room temperature before refrigerating them in an airtight container. 
9. As soon as the peaches are at room temperature, they are ready to add to recipes, or use them warm on top of ice cream for an extra special summer treat! 

*Notes:

1. This recipe works best with peaches that are slightly under-ripe or out of season. In season, ripe fruit should be eaten fresh with minimal preparation anyway (in my humble opinion). 
2. Zest the orange before you juice it! Wrap in plastic wrap tightly to keep it for a couple days in the refrigerator. Or rub it into sugar for a flavoring twist to any recipe! Watch my video here about how to get the most out of your citrus zest!
3. After your peaches are done roasting, don’t toss the vanilla pod! Vanilla pods are the gift that keeps on giving (flavor that is)! So take it out of your peaches, rinse it off, and leave it out to dry. Once it is dry, you can place into a jar of sugar make vanilla sugar, you can grind it in a spice grinder and add it to your favorite recipes instead of vanilla extract, heck, you can even use it to MAKE vanilla extract!