Place the sugar and 1 1/2 cups water in a small saucepan and simmer until the sugar dissolves. Set aside.
Fill a large saucepan with water and bring it to a boil. Add the peaches and cook for between 15 seconds and 3 minutes, just until the skins peel off easily. (Ripe peaches will be ready sooner.) Transfer the peaches to a bowl of cool water, peel and cut in wedges into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade, discarding the pits. Puree the peaches completely and pour into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
Whisk the sugar syrup, Grand Marnier and vanilla seeds into the peach puree. Place the dish uncovered on a level shelf in the freezer for 30 minutes to 1 hour, until it begins to crystallize around the edges. Scrape the entire mixture, including the edges, with the tines of a fork and freeze for another 30 minutes. Continue freezing and scraping every 30 minutes, until the mixture is soft-frozen. It should take 2 to 3 hours to freeze and will be good to serve for up to 4 hours afterward. If the mixture gets too frozen, allow it to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, and scrape it again with a dinner fork. Serve frozen in glasses.
Cook’s Note
The best way to ripen peaches is to place them in a brown paper bag with the top folded closed. Let them sit at room temperature for a day or two.
Tools You May Need
Photograph by Ryan Dausch
Tools You May Need
Price and stock may change after publish date, and we may make money off
these links.