Cinnamon Peach Frozen Yogurt

I am going to issue a warning right now.  The next couple posts that come from this blog will probably involve some sort of frozen yogurt recipe.  I am becoming slightly obsessed with frozen yogurt these days.  Although I type "warning" like there is some type of threat or worry that comes along with all these frozen yogurt recipes, the only real concern is that you will start to love different types of frozen yogurt like I do.  I also have been cooking and baking a lot in the last couple weeks, I promise!  You just wouldn't know that because I have been so busy I have not been blogging at all.  I promise many new recipes will be coming the next couple weeks.  Now on to the delicious recipe!!

The other day I found myself with a heart full of adventure and five peaches that were on the verge of going bad.  I thought, how can I use peaches up in a quick manner?  Well, what about a frozen yogurt?  And after that brief thought flitted through my mind, I knew how I was going to use them.  I am going to make them into a peach frozen yogurt.  After looking over some frozen yogurt recipes, I got a basic idea of what I need to do and started on my way.

First I cut up three of my five peaches and placed them in a pot with water, sugar, and a tad of butter. 

I cooked the peaches down until they were very soft and the juices could be strained off.  I discarded the peach skins after pushing as much juicy syrup out of them as possible.

The magic ingredient in this recipe is cinnamon.  It is actually the best ingredient in my opinion.  After all the peach juice was strained, I added cinnamon to the hot syrup.  I stirred it in and let the syrup cool in the freezer for about 15 minutes.

After the syrup had cooled, I added it to fat free vanilla yogurt.  I also added an additional sploosh of vanilla just for fun. After mixing well, it went into the Kitchaid ice cream maker. 

After about 20-25 minutes of mixing, the yogurt was done!  I added the remaining fresh, chopped peaches and mixed well.  Below is the beautiful finished product!

I loved getting to experiment with the flavors in this frozen yogurt.  What amazed me most in the final product was the amazing addition of the cinnamon.  I had actually thrown it into the peach syrup at the last minute because I had actually forgotten to add it to the peaches before they were cooked down.  This was an amazingly delicious accident!  This frozen yogurt base is by far the best one I have made to date.  Matt said this yogurt doesn't even need the additional fresh peaches next time.  He loved the cinnamon-y peach flavor all by itself!

I think when I make this recipe in the future, I am going to experiment with the type of yogurt I use.  I used Publix's fat free vanilla yogurt this time.  I am beginning to realize that the yogurt might freeze differently if I use a higher fat content.  We will see...  I will continue to keep you up-to-date with my frozen yogurt adventures!  I hope you enjoy!

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Cinnamon Peach Frozen Yogurt

1 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
5 peaches total (3 peaches chopped for the syrup and 2 peaches chopped to be added into the yogurt)
1 tablespoon butter
1 24oz container of fat free vanilla yogurt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Add water, sugar, butter, and 3 of the chopped peaches to a medium-sized sauce pan.  Cook peaches down on a medium heat for about 15-20 minutes or until very soft.  Stir often.

While peaches are cooking down, chop your remaining 2 peaches into small bite-sized pieces.  Set to the side.

Once the cooked peaches are very soft, strain the juice off into a large container.  Push as much juice as possible out of the peaches.  Throw away the skins and remaining pulp.  Stir cinnamon into the peach juice/syrup that is remaining.  Place syrup into the freezer for 15-20 minutes to let cool.

Add the yogurt into the cooled peach syrup.  Mix thoroughly and place in ice cream maker according to the manufacture's instructions.  Once the yogurt is frozen, add the fresh peaches that were set aside earlier.  Stir the peaches in and enjoy!  (The yogurt can either be eaten right then or frozen for later enjoyment.)

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