Drunken Maple Baked Peaches
Have you all noticed things getting a little “peachy” around here lately? Peaches have a special meaning to Jared and I, so we incorporated them into significant occasions wherever and whenever we can. To explain a bit more..
When I was pregnant with Emerson, she was the size of a peach when I first felt the little flutters in my belly. I was picturing her size based off those charts that tell you the size of your growing baby according to fruit and for whatever reason, the peach one always stuck with me since feeling her move for the first time.
When it came time to decorate her nursery, I wanted to do something girly, but not using the traditional pink tones. We went with a “Peaches and Puppies” theme to incorporate the significance of the peaches and our two pups, Sabre and Dulce. Plus, we live in Georgia and peaches are kind of our thing.
If you know me, you know I love a good theme and I dedicate myself to executing the theme to its fullest. Well, I started to go a little overboard with the peach theme and starting buying all the baby girl outfits with peaches or were peach in color, so it just started to be her thing and it stuck.
THEN when Emerson was born, she came out with this light orange hair which was very funny, because I have all dark, dominate traits and we thought there was no way she would inherit Jared’s strawberry blonde hair. Well, sure enough we have fiery little red head, but most days in her first year of life, it looked light orange.. some might say “peachy”. Now it is turning a little darker and looks more auburn in color, but I will never forget seeing that peachy head of hair for the first time when she was born.
Fast forward to a week ago, we celebrated Emerson’s first birthday with a ONE Sweet Peach themed birthday party, because she’s our sweet little peach and that delicious little fruit just has so much meaning to me when I think about it. I wanted to go with a theme that I personally had not seen several times and it just seemed to fit her so darn well!
Now I’m left with fresh peaches that were used as décor and I knew I wanted to bake something fun with them. Since it’s peach season here in Georgia and we are gearing up for Memorial Day Weekend, I thought this would be such a perfect recipe to share with you all!
I love anything maple and cinnamon, but I typically use those flavors more in the Fall. However, they work GREAT with other seasonal recipe outside of the traditional Fall treats and baked goods. Maple and cinnamon pair so well with the sweet peaches. They pair even better with a splash of Brandy (which makes these Drunken Peaches). Please note that you can make this recipe without the alcohol, but I had some Brandy on the bar cart and wanted to add a little kick for fun. I had Brandy on hand, but you can use dark rum or bourbon as well.
These Drunken Maple Baked Peaches are extremely easy to throw together for a delicious dessert and use simple pantry staples that you may already have on hand.
To dress these baked peaches up for dessert, top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and serve warm!
Oh, and these Baked Peaches are easily the best smelling dish I have ever made. The warm smells of Brandy, maple syrup and cinnamon with sweet peachy notes is filling the entire house and I love it! If I had to describe the smell, I would say it reminds me of those cool summer nights at the end of the season as the weather starts to fade into crisp fall weather that I have been longing to feel for the entirety of these hot and humid, Georgia summers. It’s just a vibe!
Let’s dive in..
Ingredients
- 4 fresh peaches, halved and pitted
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 tbsp brandy
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp coconut sugar or light brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
- Vanilla ice cream for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a medium baking dish (about 9x9 in. or an 8 or 9 in. round) with nonstick cooking spray. (I used my 9 in. quiche dish.) Place peaches cut side up in the dish, then set aside.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the olive oil, maple syrup, brandy, vanilla extract, sugar, cinnamon and salt until well combined.
- Fill the center of the peaches with the mixture. Allow extra mixture to run over the sides of the peaches and into the dish.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until peaches are cooked through. Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Serve warm and enjoy!
Do you have a food that has a weird, but special meaning to you too?
