Baked Peaches

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Rinse the peaches and pat dry with paper towels.

Halve each peach along the natural seam and remove the pit using a small spoon or paring knife. Arrange the peach halves cut-side up in a baking dish, snugly fitted.

Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves completely. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the mixture is clear, then remove from heat.

Stir lemon juice into the sugar syrup and pour the mixture evenly over the peach halves, filling the cavity of each peach and surrounding them in the dish.

Dot the center of each peach half with a small piece of butter, approximately ⅙ teaspoon per peach.

Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until the peaches are tender when pierced with a fork and the syrup is bubbly at the edges.

Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before serving. Spoon the warm syrup over each peach half when plating.