Peach Oatmeal Cookies

These cookies are more in the realm of healthy instead of indulgent.  If you crave a healthy treat, these cookies are quite satisfying.  If you crave something rich and chocolatey, this is not the recipe for you.

However, someone at work did make the suggestion of ice cream with these.  Perhaps using these cookies and sandwiching vanilla ice cream between them may get closer to the mark for those that are wanting something more sweet.

After some of the decadent desserts, this is a nice change of pace.  The cookies are soft and chewy with an occasionally bite of dried peaches. These cookies, since they have molasses, bake up to a dark color, but the molasses is something I would not skip in the recipe. I am not a big fan of raisins, so the dried peaches were very suitable for my taste. This recipe makes about 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

Peach Oatmeal Cookies
adapted from Desserts from Loveless Cafe

Ingredients
3 oz dried peaches (1/4 inch chopped pieces)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbs of molasses
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 1/4 cup of flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/3 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup or 1 stick of butter (room temp)

Prepare two baking sheets by lining with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and cinnamon.  Then stir in the oats and set aside.

In another bowl, cream together the butter and the sugar. Add the vanilla extract and the molasses and beat for 1 minute, scraping down sides of the bowl at the 30 second interval.  The end result should be a fluffy light batter.  Beat the egg into the batter, scraping down the sides of the bowl again to make sure all is blended. 

Using a wooden spoon, fold the dry oat mixture into the batter.  When only a few streaks of flour remain, add the dried peaches.   Stir until there are no streaks of flour and peaches are evenly distributed throughout the batter.

Drop heaping tablespoons of batter two inches apart on prepared baking sheets. You can use a scoop or a spoon.  Place pans in preheated oven and bake for 8 minutes and rotate and bake for another 8 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cookies cool on pan for 2 minutes and then transfer to a rack to completely cool.

Tips and Notes:
1. The recipe states you can also use sorghum in place of molasses.  The end result will be the same dark cookie but sorghum has more sweetness than molasses.

2. When I baked these, they took about 12 minutes to get done so keep a close eye on your baking time.
                                   **LAST YEAR: Barista Brew Pie**

Peach Tarte Tatin & Lemon Ice Cream

Recently I was struck by the fact that I have nearly missed out on peach season.  They are almost gone at the market and I have not made a thing with them.  That is until now.

Thumbing through some magazines I landed on a recipe for Peach Tarte Tatins.  What really got my interest was the fact that the recipe was so easy to put together and that they were made in individual servings.

These little desserts are a great alternative to a big pie.  The layers all come together for something tasty and unique.  The base is puff pastry, then it has a caramelized peach sitting atop of it. To create t those layers, the assembly is the opposite in a ramekin because the dessert is inverted onto a plate.

While they are satisfying enough by themselves, a dollop of ice cream makes them even better.  Vanilla a la mode may be tradition, but the dessert really pops with a homemade lemon ice cream topping.  The complimentary flavor blend really does make you question the traditional.

The equipment needed to make the complete dessert  is 8 ramekins that hold 3/4 cup and an ice cream maker. It is best to prepare the ice cream the day before, the recipe makes about 6 cups.

Lemon Ice Cream
adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients
8 egg yolks
5 tbs fresh lemon juice
1 tbs lemon zest (packed)
1 cup whole milk
1 1/4 cup sugar (divided)
3 cups heavy whipping cream

Fill a large saucepan with 1 cup sugar, whipping cream, lemon zest and milk.  Place over medium heat and stir.  The mixture should come to a simmer and the sugar dissolve. One it reaches that point, remove from heat.

In a medium heatproof bowl add egg yolks, remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and lemon juice.  Whisk until blended.  Take the saucepan of warm cream mixture and pour a slow stream into the egg yolks and stir together.

Pour custard back into saucepan and place over medium heat.  Let mixture cook, while stirring constantly.  The custard should become thicker and reach a temperature of about 170 to 175 degrees. This process should take about 5 minutes.  Take caution to make sure the mixture does not boil.

Pour custard into a heat proof bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Chill in refrigerator for 3 hours. Then pour into a ice cream maker and follow manufacturers instructions.  Place ice cream in a bowl and cover and freeze until firm.

Peach Tarte Tatins
adapted from Bon Appetit
Ingredients
1 17.3  oz package of puff pastry (thawed)
1 cup sugar, plus 2 tbs
4 ripe peaches, peeled, halved and pitted
1/4 cup water
1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tsp water for glaze
6 tbs butter

Put sugar and water in a saucepan and place over medium heat.  Stir mixture until all the sugar has dissolved.  Prepare a cup of water along with a pastry brush to occasionally wash down the sides of the mixture from the pan while it cooks.  Increase the heat and let mixture boil without stirring.  In about 7-10 minutes, it will turn a deep amber color.  Remove from heat and add the butter. Wait a few minutes for the butter to melt.

Place pan back on low heat and stir, making sure all the caramel chunks dissolve.  Once the correct consistency, pour caramel in equal increments into each of the 8 ramekins.  The place 1 peach half on top of the caramel, with cut side facing up. Complete the process until all peach halves are in the ramekins.  Set ramekins aside.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Then take out puff pastry and cut into 8 rounds that are the same diameter as the ramekins.  Put one round on top of each of the peach halves and tuck in the edges.

Brush the dough tops with egg glaze and sprinkle some sugar on top.  Place ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet, spacing evenly.  Put in oven and bake about 25 minutes.  Pastry should have a golden color when done. 

Remove pan from oven when done. Using oven mitts, invert each ramekin onto a dessert plate.  Let cool for about 10 minutes.  Then top with a scoop of ice cream and serve.
                         **LAST YEAR: Cranberry Invasion Cake**

M & R Pie

Well I have been looking all over the net concerning pies trying to come up with a name for this one.   Interestingly enough, I came across a site called Pies Across America.  It is actually a program set up by two people, Micah and Rick with the idea of sending pies out to people that are in need of some uplifting, such as those affected by natural disasters.  Their base site is in Facebook which I am not a member of, so I am not sure how active the site is.

I have really been on a peach kick lately, I think it was all started with a mixed drink called a Peach Freeze.  Frozen pureed peaches was the base of the drink and it was heavenly.  This particular pie is full of spices and sliced ripe peaches.  In addition, for a little extra zing, I have added some peach schnapps as well.  Also, pecan pieces were lightly pressed into the bottom of the pie crust before filling.  One slice topped with a scoop of vanilla really makes for a great summer dessert.

M&R Pie
by flourtrader

Ingredients
Pie crust for 9 inch double crust pie
1/4 cup chopped pecans
8-10 peaches, peeled and cut into chunks
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbs flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
3 tbs peach schnapps
3 tbs cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
sugar for sprinkling

Prepare pie crust dough as directed and cover and place dough disks in the fridge to chill prior to rolling.  Place a sheet of wax paper on a flat surface and lightly dust with flour.  Using a rolling pin, roll dough out to a 13 inch circle.  Then invert and center dough over pie pan and peel off wax paper and tuck the pastry into the pan.  Do not stretch the pastry, but flatten against the pan.  Then lightly press the pecan pieces into the bottom of the dough.  Leave overhang and place back in fridge for 15 minutes.

Then fold the peaches, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, sugar and flour together in a separate bowl.  Stir in the peach schnapps.  Take the pie pan out of the fridge and fill the pie pan with the mixture, making sure it is all even.  Then drop the small pieces of butter in places on top of the filling.

Take out the the second piece of dough and place on floured wax paper. Roll into an 11 inch circle.  Moisten the top edge of the dough in the pie pan and invert 2 piece of dough over the top.  Press to seal.  Make a decorative top edge according to your personal preference.

Sprinkle sugar over the top of the dough.  Then make steam vents in the top of the pie with a paring knife.  Place in oven and let bake for 30 minutes.  Then lower heat to 350 degrees and rotate pie 180 degrees and bake for an additional 30 minutes.

Remove and place on rack to completely cool.
                       
Tips and Notes:
1. amount of filling will vary, depending on the size of your peaches.  Mine were fairly small
2. Peach flavors develop more within time, so waiting a day before serving would be better
                        **LAST YEAR: Aztec Treasure Cookies**
 

Monticello Pride Tart

One of our famous presidents, Thomas Jefferson, had an estate in Monticello.  This estate had a South orchard that contained about 38 different varieties of peach trees.  Most of us are familiar with the story about him fleeing the estate on horseback during the war. After that he was labeled as being a coward.

In reading some more history, I found out that he had long since made a choice between the strong, corrupt politics and the more honest, smaller group of politicians.  Having chosen to be a part of the smaller group led to issues of not having a very effective army and questionable leadership skills.  On top of these issues, his estate was very costly to maintain.  Costly enough to where the financial burden was not only felt by him but also the rest of the family.  However, this financial struggle was something he willingly dealt with instead of relinquishing the estate.  In the long run, I do believe that keeping the estate was a matter of pride.

Now you know how the name came about, so on with the explanation of this dessert!  The pastry crust is made with ground almonds which gives it a rich flavor.  In addition, the filling is unlike the standard.  Instead of being heavy with cream it only has 1/4 cup, which is much lighter.  You will also find ground almonds and almond extract in it. To offset this nutty tart, fresh sliced peaches are cooked on top of the filling.  After baking, warm peach preserves are brushed on top.

We normally go with peaches and cream, but the nutty base does compliment the flavor of the peaches.  As you take a bite, you land on the flaky nutty pastry, then the filling with a little crunch and finally, the sweet juicy peach.  As far as I am concerned peach and almond never tasted so good!

Also, before we move on, I wanted to thank a blogger for a recent award. I know I usually do two, but I think this one, due to the uniqueness, needs to stand alone.

Javelin Warrior at Cooking With Luv
He gave me the Happy Blogger award.  Javelin has a very unique blog that focuses on
promoting food bloggers..  He has such themes as "made with love Mondays" and "Tuesday Tutor".  The first is a weekly link up of recipes from various blogs.  The links have to be made from scratch recipes that are void of any artificial colors or ingredients.  The second theme is a post where he makes a recipe from a fellow blogger and interviews them as well.  We all know there are thousands of food blogs, so his themes are helping shed some limelight on some great talent that you might not have been aware of. I admire his selflessness in blogging as well as his dedication to natural nutrition.

If you have not met Javelin, you are missing the benefits of having this unique blogger in your circle, so drop in for a visit.  Now for the recipe!

Monticello Pride Tart
by flourtrader

Ingredients/ Almond Filling
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
1 3/4 cup of almond flour or meal (I ground my own)

Ingredients/Nut Pastry Crust
1/3 cup whole almonds
6 tbs butter ( cold and cubed)
1 tbs cold shortening (cold and cubed)
2 tbs water
3/4 tbs sugar
1 1/4 cups of flour
1/8 tsp salt

Ingredients/ Topping
4 peeled and sliced peaches
1/2 cup peach preserves
3 tbs water

To make the filling, whisk the egg and almond extract together.  Then, in a separate bowl, mix the sugar and almond flour together.  Take half of the almond sugar mixture and stir into the egg batter.  Add the whipping cream, mixing until well blended.  Add the rest of the almond sugar mixture and stir.  After everything is blended, place a sheet of plastic wrap on the surface of the batter and place it in the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours.

After about 2 1/2  hours of chilling time, start on the crust.  Place the nuts and sugar in a food processor and pulse several times.  The consistency should be fine once pulsed, almost flour fine.  Go through the blend and make sure there are no more large chunks of nuts.  If so remove them or chop them down with a knife.

Then add the flour and salt, pulsing in intervals until well blended.  Open the lid of the processor and toss in the butter cubes. Replace the lid and pulse about 6 times.  Open again,fluff dough with
a fork and drop in shortening cubes.  Then pulse for 6 times and then open and fluff the dough.  Lastly, add the water and pulse until the mixture forms clumps.

Empty the contents of the processor on top of a sheet of wax paper.  Form the dough into a ball and then knead a few times and flatten into a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill in fridge for 45 minutes.

Take out disk and place on lightly floured surface. Roll into a 9X12 rectangle.  Wrap the dough around the rolling pin and then unroll it over the 7X10 inch tart pan.  Press evenly into bottom of pan and up the sides. Then place pan in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. After the proper chilling time has expired, remove the tart  pan from the freezer and the filling from the refrigerator.  Uncover filling and fill tart pan, smoothing the top to insure even coverage to all corners.

Then place the peach slices in rows, either vertically or horizontally, on top of the filling.  Then place in oven and bake about 40 minutes.  When done, the cream should be set and the crust toasty. Remove and place tart on a rack.

While the tart is baking, place peach preserves and water in a small saucepan over medium high heat.  Stir and let mixture come to a simmer.  Pour mixture into a sieve placed over a heat proof bowl.  Discard any lumps left in sieve and then brush the strained preserves over the peaches.

To serve, cut tart into pieces with a sharp knife.  Tart can be served warm or at room temperature.

Notes and Tips:
1. the pastry crust is easy to work with so if your transfer of the dough to the tart is not perfect you can patch it in place.
2. To insure that the pastry holds its shape all freezing time and chilling time is required.
3. How many peaches you use is personal preference on how much fruit you want to overlap on top.
4. The texture of the filling will vary depending on which type you use-almond flour, almond meal or grinding your own.  The almond flour will give you the smoothest "mouth feel".
                                **LAST YEAR: Foggy City Meatloaf**

Cinnamon Topped Immortality Bars

The name of these particular bars are based on Chinese mythology that the consumption of peaches will give you longevity.  The legendary effects were depicted in a novel called "The Journey to the West" in which the protector of the peaches learned that a single peach would add 1000 years to your life.  1000 years is a long time...makes you wonder what a thousand year old person would even look like.  The youthful thing would have be included with the 1000 years to make it even worth while to me!

These particular bars are a cakey bar.  The base is made of a blend of peaches and peach schnapps.  Toasted pecans were included to add texture as well as another level of taste.  It is all topped off with cinnamon powdered sugar.  The peach flavor is more evident if eaten the second day.

Cinnamon Topped Immortality Bars
by flourtrader

Ingredients
1/2 cup toasted chopped pecans
1/4 cup shortening
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup fresh or frozen peaches (thawed)
1/4 cup peach schnapps
1 cup light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease the inside of a 10 inch springform pan.

Sift together flour, salt and baking powder.  Set aside.  In a food processor, add peaches and peach schnapps and puree together.

In a separate bowl, cream together shortening and brown sugar.  Stir in peach puree mix and vanilla extract, beating until all is blended well.  Then fold in sifted ingredients until no dry streaks remain.  Then fold in nuts.

Spoon batter into springform pan.  Using a spatula, smooth the batter evenly on top.  Then place pan in oven.  My pan was dark so baking time was 20 minutes, if you use a clear or light pan the baking time may be more.  Bars are done when tester comes out clean.

While bars are baking, put powdered sugar and cinnamon in a zip lock bag and seal.  Shake well to mix.  Set aside.

Once the bars are done, remove the pan and let cool about 10 minutes.  Then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture over the top and remove ring.  Let bars cool completely and then cut to serve.

Just a note to say that I will be away tomorrow taking care of some business that I have been putting off for some time now.  I should be back sometime on Wednesday to post, hopefully before noon.  I will be positive and say things should be back to normal by Thursday.

Peach Bread Pudding with Amaretto Sauce

I have never made bread pudding before nor eaten it, so I was not sure what to expect.  I was wondering if it would be like french toast or something a little different.  After making this recipe and tasting it, I was pleasantly surprised.

While baking, the bread transformed to a custard.  You could not even tell that there was any bread in the dish at all.  It has a creamy almond custard taste for the bottom component and is topped with peaches, cinnamon, almonds and brown sugar.  The picture above does not show the dish with the sauce, but to me it was a vital component to making this dish complete in taste.

In the picture the peaches look to be on top of the custard.  I did skip the step of pressing down the slices into the pan, so that task may help to envelope the peach in the bread pudding instead of having it only on top.  Either way, I am sure the dish is just as delicious as the other.

Peach Bread Pudding with Amaretto Sauce
adapted from Recipes from American Inns and Bed & Breakfasts

Ingredients/Bread Pudding
1/4 cup and 2 tbs sugar
1/2 tsp almond extract
15 oz can sliced peaches in heavy syrup, drained
3 1/2 cups cubed bread (1/2 inch square), crusts removed
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp brown sugar
4 1/2 tsp ground almonds

Grease an 8 inch square baking pan and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk together milk, eggs, sugar and almond extract.  Place cubed bread evenly in the bottom of the prepared pan.  Pour in egg mixture, making sure all bread is covered.  Then place peach slices on top, distributing evenly and pressing down with a spoon.

In a small bowl, mix together the cinnamon and brown sugar.  Then sprinkle on top of the bread pudding.  Lastly sprinkle with the ground almonds.

Place pan in oven and bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, which is about 45-55 minutes.  While this is baking, you can prepare your sauce.

Ingredients/Amaretto Sauce (makes 1 cup)
1/4 cup half and half
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp flour
1/4 cup or 1/2 a stick of butter
2 tsp Amaretto

In a small saucepan, stir together flour and sugar.  Add butter and half&half.  Then place over medium high heat and stir until butter is melted.  Once the mixture comes to a boil, remove from heat and stir in Amaretto.

Place a serving of warm bread pudding in a bowl.  Then ladle with some of the sauce and serve.
                                   **LAST YEAR: Shortbread Squares**
Please note that this post is not open to comments since I am on vacation due to the Thanksgiving holiday and am unable to reciprocate or answer any questions.

Georgia Tunnel Cake

The one thing I really like about this cake is that it is versatile.You can make it without the filling and let peach schnapps soak into the cake while warm or you can prepare it with the tasty cinnamon nut filling.  Either way, it makes for a wonderful dessert.

My first trial resulted in too much filling and too much batter.  Second time around I used a 12 cup bundt and half the filling recipe.  It yielded much better results, even though I still had a little batter left, which you can use to make some cupcakes.  That way if you are bringing this cake to a party or giving it, you still will be able to have a taste without cutting into the cake.

The cake part is a moist crumb with chunks of peaches in it.  The filling part is a cinnamon walnut mixture which is much like a pie filling.  The flavors really compliment each other, so I will be making this again.

My sister says she is making a request list of things on my blog she would like to see on a dessert table for around the holidays, so we will see if this ends up on the list!

Georgia Tunnel Cake
by flourtrader

Ingredients/Filling
1/2 cup cinnamon chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
2 beaten eggs

To make the filling: Place butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Once melted, stir in sugar, salt and corn syrup.  Continue to stir as mixture cooks and sugar dissolves.  The sugar is completely dissolved when there is no gritty consistency at the bottom of the pan.  Remove pan from heat and place in fridge on a pot holder or trivet to cool.

In a large bowl whisk together vanilla, eggs and salt until combined.  Then preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Continue to check the temperature of the sugar mixture periodically.  Remove the bowl once it reaches a lukewarm temperature.  Stir it a few times and then pour it into the vanilla/egg mixture.  Use a spatula to get all the sugar mixture out and mix the ingredients together until evenly distributed.  Then fold in the cinnamon chips and the nuts.

Pour the mixture onto prepared baking sheet and place in oven for 5-7 minutes.  The mixture will foam up a little while baking and you should make sure it does not become hard like candy. Remove and let the filling cool.  The filling should become thick and be able to be spooned up without any watery drips.

Ingredients/Cake
4 1/2 cups of flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 3/4 cup plus 2 tbs butter
7 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup peach schnapps
3 cups chopped peaches

To make cake: preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease 12 cup bundt pan and then dust with bread crumbs.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each addition.  Then beat in the vanilla extract and set aside.

Sift the flour and the baking powder together in another bowl.  Then take out a small bowl and whisk the peach schnapps with the milk.

Fold in 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter/sugar batter until no dry streaks remain.  Stir in half of the peach schnapps slurry.  Repeat the process, ending with the flour mixture.  Lastly, fold in the peaches.

If you are using the filling, put half of the cake batter into the pan and even it out.  Then spoon filling mixture into the center of the batter, being careful not to let it touch the sides of the pan.  After the filling is all used, pour the rest of the batter on top and smooth it out.  If not using the filling,  just pour all of the batter into the pan and smooth the top.

Let bake for 45-55 minutes or until tester comes out clean and batter is pulling away from the sides of the pan.  Remove pan from oven and place pan on rack to cool.  If you have not filled the cake, you might opt to pour 1/4 cup of peach schnapps on the cake and cover so it will sink in and not evaporate.  Let cake cool in pan for 20 minutes, then invert onto a rack to finish cooling.  Below is a picture of a slice of this cake, but note that this was the recipe before I cut back on the amount of filling.

                             **LAST YEAR: Jumbo Harvest Squash Muffins**

Peach Heart Muffins

Well, I recently got some new equipment for baking.  It is a muffin pan with spikes in it.  I had to try it out.  The one thing I did realize is that in order for the spikes to suspend whatever you stick on them, they would have to be somewhat solid.  In this particular recipe, I cooked the peaches first, so they were a little too soft to be suspended.   I will be doing more experimenting to see what tasty things I can suspend in muffins or cupcakes.

This recipe does not require the special pan, you can place the peach piece on top of the batter before baking. I have only tested this recipe with the spike method, so I am not sure how much the fruit will or will not sink when baking if you place it it on top of the batter .

Peaches have not been the best this year and I have patiently waiting for some good ones. Most of them are the size of plums. However,  I recently found a good selection at a roadside stand. Now I  wish I had bought more.

This muffin recipe yields a moist cake that envelopes a juicy peach chunk that was cooked in peach schnapps (or peach nectar for the non alcoholic).  Each is covered with a crumb topping and sprinkled with powdered sugar.  The recipe yields one dozen standard size muffins.

Peach Heart Muffins
by flourtrader

Ingredients/muffins
12 chunks of peeled peaches
1/4 cup of peach schnapps (or nectar)
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup or 8 tbs of butter (room temp)
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbs vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 plus 2 tbs flour

Ingredients/topping
2 tbs peach schnapps (or nectar)
1 cup flour
4 tbs melted butter
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

To make the muffins, grease the top edges of the 12 indentations in the pan.  Then line with cupcake liners or slide over the spikes (special pan) making a small hole in the liner.

Take a small saucepan and fill with peach schnapps (or nectar) and peach pieces.  Place over medium high heat and stir a little.  Then let mixture come to a boil.  Turn heat to low and let simmer for 6 minutes or until all pieces are cooked through. Remove and let cool.

While this is cooling, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Sift together the salt, baking powder and flour.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar for 3-5 minutes or until light and fluffy.  Add each whole egg, one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each addition.  Do the same with the yolks and then beat in the vanilla extract and the vegetable oil.

After cooling the cooked peaches, separate them from the sauce.  Then stir the sauce into the batter.

Mix the dry ingredients into the batter in 1/3 increments until no more dry streaks remain.  If using a regular pan, pour the batter into the cupcake liners and smooth the top.  Then place 1 peach chunk on top.  If using a spike pan, slide one peach piece onto the the top of the spike.  Piece should be pierced all the way through, but the spike should not show sticking out the top. Spoon batter over the piece, filling each cavity.

Then make the crumb topping.  Whisk together all the dry ingredients until evenly distributed.  Pour in the schnapps (or nectar) and the melted butter. Stir with a fork until it becomes coarse crumbs.  Sprinkle topping evenly over muffins.

Place pan in oven and bake for 18-23 minutes or until top is a golden color.  A tester can also be used, but be sure that it is stuck into the cake part to test and not the peach piece.

Remove pan and let muffins cool for 1 minute and transfer to wire rack.  Dust with powdered sugar.

Tip: the easiest way to peel a peach is by putting it in boiling water for 2 minutes.  Then remove and let cool a little and wipe with a paper towel.  The towel will pull the skin right off.  This beats peeling with a knife and there is less of the peach wasted.

Peach and Blackberry Dumplings

Dumplings-that word conjures up many different varieties of food.  Some people naturally think of a savory dish like chicken and dumplings and others think of Asian style dumplings. The thought of fruit dumplings rarely comes to mind.

After reading the title, I envisioned a dessert with a toasty biscuit top and a pie-like bottom.  However, I ended up with soft, airy and sweet dumplings on top of juice and chunks of fruit. Being wrong, in this case, was a delicious surprise.   The addition of wine to the fruit really enhanced the flavor over all.  Also, the dumplings held up well in spite of the high liquidity of the fruit.

The other favorable thing about this recipe is that it requires very little time to prepare.

Peach and Blackberry Dumplings
courtesy of From the Earth to the Table Cookbook

Ingredients/Dumplings
1/2 cup buttermilk (or a little more if needed)
1 egg, separated
1 tbs melted butter
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp sugar
1 cup flour

Ingredients/Fruit Bottom
1 cup fresh blueberries or blackberries
4 cups peeled and sliced peaches
1 1/4 cups fruity white wine
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 cup sugar

To make the batter, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and 2 tsp of sugar and set aside.

In a small bowl, beat the egg white to a soft peak consistency. Set it aside also.

Then, using another bowl, stir together the egg yolk, melted butter and 1/2 cup of the buttermilk until completely blended together.  Pour the flour mixture into the batter and mix until no more flour streaks remain.  The batter should now be like a drop biscuit dough.  If it seems too dry, add more buttermilk in teaspoon quantities until the right consistency is achieved.  Lastly, fold the egg white into the batter and set aside.

For the fruit bottom, fill a 4 quart pan (also need to have a lid) with the sugar, ginger, cinnamon and wine.  Stir all ingredients and place pan over medium high heat.  Bring mixture to a boil and then turn down to a simmer.  Add the fruit and cook, uncovered, for three minutes.

Then, take the dough and drop by spoonfuls on top of the cooking fruit.  Cover the pan with the lid and set timer for 8 minutes.  After eight minutes, check to see if dumplings are firm.  If not cook for an additional 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and serve warm.  This also can be served with whipped cream or ice cream on top. Enjoy!