Fresh fruits are amazing for this, but if you can't get fresh, frozen works quite well too. In fact, I almost prefer to use frozen peaches over fresh because then I don't have to peel, seed, and slice them.
And that's exactly what I did for my peach butter. This stuff is so amazingly yummy that I could eat it by the spoonful.
Not that I ever have. *whistles innocently*
This is 4 pounds of peaches. The handy thing about this recipe is that it scales up and down easily. 1 lb of fruit and 1 cup of sugar. And the frozen ones usually come in one pound bags.
Let them thaw before dumping them into the pan. Add about 1/2 cup of water, so they won't stick.
Close-up time. See all the juices that are beginning to be released from the peaches? Divine! They are spectacularly awesome smelling at this point. Like peach pie.
When they get to bubbling along and are soft enough that you can cut through them with a soft touch, then they are ready to be turned into the butter.
Personally I like my spreads to be nice and smooth, so I pop my hot peaches into the blender and pulse them until there are no chunks. This is totally optional. I've done it both ways, and this is simply the way I prefer them.
Nice and smooth, just the way I like it!
Next up comes the good stuff. 4 cups of granulated sugar, a tablespoon of cinnamon, a teaspoon of nutmeg, and about 1/2 teaspoon of cloves. I like mine spiced, so I add them in. You can also leave them out for a milder tasting butter.
Dump everything in....
And give it a good stir.
All mixed and ready to go!
Now it's basically a waiting game. Keep cooking the butter over medium-ish heat, stirring fairly frequently. We don't want it to stick and burn after all our hard work!
You will know that it's done when it "rounds up on a spoon." What that means is that when you take a bit on a metal spoon, it all stays together. No runny liquids are oozing out of it. The first couple times you make butters, it's hard to know what to look for. But once you see it, you'll know it!
While you are waiting, go ahead and prepare the jars and lids for canning. I use a hot water bath for all my canning, as I don't can anything that requires a pressure canner. Jars are heated, lids are gently heated to soften the seal, and so on.
Go ahead and fill the jars with the hot peach butter, leaving about 1/4 inch headroom. As you can see, this particular recipe of 4 lbs of peaches made about 3.5 pints of finished peach butter. I actually had just a smidge left beyond that, so I popped it into a container and stuck it in the fridge. It didn't last long because it was fantastic.
Carefully put the lids and bands on. Careful to only fingertip tighten the bands.
Into the hot water to process. I usually process my butters for about 15 minutes, but depending on your elevation that may be different. Make sure that there is approximately 2 inches of water covering the jars as well.
Once the processing time is up, remove the jars from the water and set them in a place where they won't be disturbed for about 24 hours. Listen for the tale-tell 'pop' of the lids. That's how you know it has processed properly.
The possibilities are endless. This year alone I made apple butter, peach butter, pear butter, strawberry jam, blueberry jam, blackberry jam, raspberry jam, pomegranate jelly, and more. I had jars all over the place. But at holiday time, I was more than ready to give gifts and eat well.
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