These Slow-Cooker Bourbon Peaches were inspired by a craving for vanilla ice cream with summer peaches. However, in the middle of fall and winter, that’s a difficult craving to satisfy! For years now, my sister has been making and sharing her peach rum sauce with me. I finally had a chance to make a batch this year and it’s fantastic, truly.
However, traditional peach sauce requires a significant amount of time spent peeling and slicing fresh peaches. In addition to the added effort required to make the traditional recipe for cooked peaches, peach season is always gone in a flash. For these {Slow Cooker} Bourbon Peaches, I’ve turned that peach rum sauce into a crock-pot recipe that requires a fraction of the time and effort. I had a bag of frozen peaches in the freezer, so I tossed it into a small crock-pot. (Feel free to double, triple, or quadruple the recipe or use whichever size slow cooker you like best!) I added a sprinkling of brown sugar, a couple of cinnamon sticks, a pinch of salt, a splash of bourbon, and a generous splash of water. The peaches begin to smell amazing within an hour and it is all I can do not to pick the peaches out with a fork and drink the liquids with a spoon while the peaches simmer and softened. Let them cook for a few hours, and as soon as they’re soft, scoop them over ice cream and drizzle the liquids from the crock-pot over everything. The peaches will form a light syrup as they cook. Scoop the finished peaches into a jar and then pour any liquid over them. Cover with a lid and refrigerate for any time you have a craving for peaches. This is pure summertime heaven in a bowl and it’s made even better because you can make and enjoy this all year round without the wait for peach season or the effort of fresh peaches. The flavor is intensely peach and I’ll be honest, I like this every single bit as much and maybe a little bit more (shhhh, don’t tell my sister) than the sauce made with fresh peaches.
Cooking Tips for Slow Cooker Peaches
This recipe can be doubled, tripled, or quadrupled without any issues. While we love these peaches with a splash of bourbon, the peaches are also delicious without the alcohol. The bourbon adds a distinct flavor, without being at all overpowering. The time required to cook these peaches will vary depending on the size of your slow-cooker. This recipe may easily be multiplied. Slow cookers or crockpots are an appliance of which I have more than one. If you are an avid slow cooker user like I am, you might understand the need for more than one. So, let’s talk about my favorites: First up is this 6-quart slow cooker that has a locking lid. These crockpots are fantastic for transporting foods. Mine has gone everywhere from church potlucks to barbecues, game nights to Thanksgiving dinner. However, fair warning, these slow cookers run crazy hot. Low is closer to a boil than a simmer, the warm setting actually simmers. So trust me when I say HIGH is high. My everyday slow cooker is this 8-quart Crockpot. It’s my go-to appliance for cooking large roasts and big batches of chili. Fun fact: did you know that a full 4-quart cooker, actually cooks more slowly than a half-full 8-quart cooker? For just cooking a few pounds of chicken to shred for enchiladas or other smaller recipes, this 3-quart version is perfect. Thanksgiving has become a breeze since I have mastered how to hold all of the side dishes using these medium-sized round slow cookers. If you aren’t a fan of the idea of keeping more than one slow cooker in the house, these CrockPockets are a game-changer when it comes to preparing and holding multiple dishes at the same time. They slide into a standard 6-quart crockpot, dividing it into two sections that are perfect for serving different side dishes or keeping taco fillings warm for parties.
