Amaretto Peach Preserves with Pecans

You spend the day canning!

Today was another very full day of canning!  I had a lot of pears to get done and my sister had requested a very specific item that I want to share with you.  I gave a lot of thought as to whether I should share or not since it does contain amaretto, but after much consideration, I am at peace with sharing it.  We do not keep alcohol in our home unless it is a cooking wine, so I was unsure about this recipe.  I guess my thinking reached a turning point when I realized vanilla flavoring was made with vodka!  I then understood my amaretto was no different, it was just a flavor.

To make these preserves you will need 4 cups of peaches chopped, 7-1/2 cups of sugar (cough, cough!  Yep, that is a lot of sugar!), 1/4 cup of lemon juice, 1-1/2 Tablespoon of orange zest, one pouch Sure-Jell Certo Liquid Pectin, 3/4 cup of pecan chips, and 3 Tablespoons of Amaretto.

I doesn't look like I had four cups of peaches because I had to freeze my peaches for a couple of days before I could get to them.  They measured four cups before being frozen.  :)

To begin,  mix the sugar, orange zest, lemon juice, and peaches together in a large pan.

Keep stirring!  It will mix together, I promise!  :)

See?

You may add 1/4-1/2 tsp. of butter at this point to help reduce the foam if you wish.  Bring this mixture to a rolling boil, and add in the liquid pectin all at one time.

Make sure you have this opened and ready to go before you begin cooking
the peaches!

Mix this in well, stirring constantly until the peaches come back to a rolling boil.  Once the mixture is at rolling boil, boil the mixture for exactly one minute.

Remove the mixture from the heat.  Stir in the pecans and amaretto.

Sorry to confuse you with the 1/4 cup measuring cup.  I just poured the
3 Tablespoons of amaretto in there to make pouring easier and not mess
up another bowl or cup.

Doesn't this look delicious???  After tasting it, I can see why my sister likes it so much!

The preserves were ladled into jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space, sealed with two piece lids, and processed in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.

This is the result.  I need to try to get a better picture tomorrow after the 24 hour waiting period, but I just couldn't wait to share!  :)  These are so delicious!

So?  What do you think?  I hope you try them, and let me know what you think!  If you have any variations, I would love to hear!  Leave a comment!

Until we meet again, may you be blessed!

* To insure the safety of your canned food, always follow the USDA's rules for safe canning techniques.

Update!  Better photo.  :)