Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Prepare the peaches:

Slice the peaches in half through the stem and around the pit. Hold each peach gently in your palms and slowly rotate both halves in opposite directions. One half should slide off the pit and one half should still hold the pit. Lay the peach halves down (with the pits still in place), cut side up, in your roasting pan. Pour all the remaining ingredients, except 2 tablespoons of the sugar, over the peaches.

Roast and glaze the peaches:

Roast the peaches for 30 minutes. Take them out of the oven and gently, with the tip of a paring knife, remove the pits from the 8 halves. If the pits seem well rooted in the peach flesh, you can try to pull them out later in the cooking process. Flip the peaches over and continue to roast for another 30 minutes. Remove the peaches from the oven again and flip them over. Remove any remaining pits. Once all of the peaches are without pits, ladle some of the cooking liquid over the peaches.

Raise the oven temperature to 400°F. Sprinkle the remaining sugar over the peaches and bake for 20 minutes. Baste and continue to bake until the peaches are reduced in size, shiny, and are deep orange with some areas of caramelization, 20 minutes. If they are not done, baste and continue baking for 10 to 15 minutes. When they are done, baste the peaches one last time. Remove from the oven and allow the peaches to cool in the roasting pan.

Serving Suggestions:

Place 2 peaches on each plate and drizzle the cooking syrup over the peaches. Serve with whipped cream or the Sauternes Sabayon. The Hazelnut Cake is delicious with the peaches and their cooking juices. For a crunchy note, try the Hazelnut Streusel Topping.