I remember eating fried peach jacks whenever I went to Dinner on the Ground at a small country church in eastern North Carolina. Dinner on the Ground all over the south celebrated the end of revival – they called it Homecoming. Like peach jacks, these celebrations are a fading tradition.

A great southern treat, these jacks are made from cooked dried peaches in a crust that is fried in lard. Someone has to do it now that Paula Deen is in trouble. Well, you can fry these in canola oil if you choose, but I just wanted to recreate the goodies of my youth.

So I gathered up my stuff and visited friend Nancy and we fried up peach jacks. A Southern Plate cookbook author even cooked these up on the Today Show.

Southern Peach Jack Recipe

Peach Filling (Make filling the day before you plan to make the jacks)

• 1 6-ounce package of dried peaches*
• 1 1/2 – 2 cups water (Add water if it cooks out before peaches are soft)
• 1 cup sugar

Simmer peaches and water in a small saucepan for 45 minutes to an hour until peaches are soft. Be careful, they tend to stick. Add water if needed. Add the sugar and cook 15 minutes more, stirring often. Remove from heat and refrigerate overnight. You will have 2 1/2 cups peaches.

Dough

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/2 cup milk
• Extra flour for dusting cutting board and rolling pin.

Frying

• 1/2 – 1 cup lard for frying

Or you can use canned biscuits. Friend Nancy uses canned biscuits and her peach jacks are fabulous.

Stir together the flour and salt. Using two forks, cut in the shortening. Add milk and stir. Separate into 8 to 10 portions. Using the extra flour and a rolling pin, roll each dough piece into a 6″ round. Roll dough as thin as you can without tearing dough.

If you are using canned biscuits, roll each biscuit on a floured surface or waxed paper. Roll as thin as possible; each round should be about 6 inches across.

Put 2 Tablespoons cooked peaches in the center of the rolled dough. Fold the edges over to make a half circle. Crimp edges with a fork. Trim off excess dough.

Melt lard in a medium-size frying pan. Grease should be quite hot before you fry jacks. Fry jacks until they are golden in color. Turn and brown the other side. Remove from heat and drain on paper towels. Continue until all jacks are cooked.

The sweet, tangy taste of Peach Jacks is a treat. They are good cold but, oh, so good when they are hot.  Yum!

Yield: 6-8 jacks

* Use dried fruit . . . in the south, we used dried peaches, apples or cherries. Fresh fruit just doesn’t have the zing.

‘Tis the season to make, give & enjoy homemade spirits with
this easy-to-follow recipe for festive Cranberry Liqueur

Photo by Chloe Tuttle

I LOVE cranberries and I try to use them any way I can – I even float them in my kitchen sink on Christmas Day. So I knew that Cranberry Liqueur just had to be wonderful – and it is. This liqueur is my original recipe and it is a gorgeous, clear-red libation.

Since it takes 3 weeks of steeping before being ready to bottle & serve, now is the time to start prepping your very own batch of homemade Cranberry Liqueur so you’ll have plenty on hand for entertaining, seasonal gift-giving and ringing in the New Year!

Another reason to love this recipe? Nothing goes to waste! After 3 weeks of soaking the cranberries in quality vodka, simply strain to separate them from the liqueur. Reserve these vodka-infused berries and serve them as-is, or as a festive topping for homemade sorbet or ice cream. Remember, they can make you tipsy!

Big Mill B&B Homemade Cranberry Liqueur

    1 cup water
    2 cups granulated sugar
    2 cups *fresh cranberries, washed & picked through, discarding bad berries *
        (See note at end of recipe if wanting to substitute frozen cranberries for fresh)
    1 tablespoon grated orange rind
    1 tablespoon frozen orange juice concentrate
    2 cups quality vodka
         (For a stronger alcoholic mixture, swap some of the water with vodka, to taste).

Combine water and sugar in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer sugar syrup for five minutes, making sure the sugar is completely dissolved.

Stir in the cranberries, grated orange rind and orange juice concentrate. Remove syrup mixture from heat and cool enough so that the mixture can be safely poured into a blender or food processor. Using the chop setting, pulse so that the berries are just slightly chopped.  Allow the mixture to cool.

Add vodka and stir.

Pour into a large glass jar, cover and store in a cool, dark place for three weeks, stirring every few days.  If this is made during the winter it can be stored in a cool, dark place. If it is made in warm weather, store in the refrigerator.

After steeping for three weeks, strain the mixture several times using a mesh strainer or cheesecloth until the liquid appears clear red with no berry residue. Reserve the vodka-soaked cranberries for another use.

Pour liqueur into glass jars. Cover and store both the liqueur and the reserved pulp in the refrigerator. (This reserved pulp is great for other things such as topping ice cream and sorbet!)

Yield: 2 ½ to 3 cups liqueur. You can easily double or triple this recipe; I usually make enough to fill a gallon jar.

Photo by Chloe Tuttle

*Note – If substituting frozen cranberries for fresh, simply reduce the amount of water called for in ingredient list.

I have found that fresh cranberries will keep for weeks in the refrigerator, and for months in the freezer. Simply remove the berries from the bag and store in a plastic strawberry or blueberry container with air vents. Every week you will need to pick through and discard any bad berries.

Bottoms Up!