Bourbon Peach Pie Filling

steps

Fill a pie with two pints or use the filling for a peach crisp or top with buttermilk biscuits and bake up a cobbler.

1. Bring a 5-quart pot of water to a boil. Fill a large bowl with 8 cups of water and dissolve the Fruit Fresh, or lemon juice, in the water (this will prevent peaches from turning brown). Fill another large bowl with ice water. Working in batches, dip peaches in boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds. Scoop peaches out of water and transfer to the bowl of ice water. Make an “X” in the bottom of each cooled peach and peel skin off in large swaths; if it does not peel easily, leave the next batch in the boiling water a little longer. Cut each peach into eight slices. Hold slices in the acidulated water.
2. In a preserving pot, combine ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, 1/2 cup water, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice, and whisk until smooth. Bring to a boil. Lift peach slices from water and slide into pot. The mixture will look gloppy—just keep stirring gently. Bring mixture to a rolling boil for exactly 1 minute. Add bourbon, if using, stir, and remove from heat.
3. Funnel peaches and syrup into warm, prepared jars, leaving 1 inch of headspace. Process in boiling water bath for 30 minutes. Leave jars in the canner for 10 minutes after processing to prevent siphoning.