Blueberry and Peach Crumble
What do you do with peaches that won’t make it through the weekend? A weekend in which you won’t be around to enjoy a big ole’ juicy peach with breakfast or post weekend morning run? You know … with the juice running down your chin and also down your forearm until it drips off your elbow. Peaches that are best eaten over the sink or in the back yard with your head pitched forward, which causes your butt to kinda stick out as well…all so the juice doesn’t drip down your chin and down your frontside. And the slurping…peach eating is always accompanied by slurping, which kinda drives me bonkers, but is totally necessary. Peaches should be served with bibs…kinda like lobster dinners.
What does a girl do when she finds herself, ready for a weekend away, with 2lbs of ripe peaches on her counter, late Friday afternoon? Oh, and she is me?
Well, you take the pint of blueberries that were meant for your roadtrip snack ( yeah, I am that girl eating fruits and veggies on road trips…along with beef jerky. Always beef jerky.) and you slice the peaches, foregoing any peeling ( and then hours later, you will find yourself telling your brother to suck it up when he mentions he doesn’t like the texture of peach skin in his desserts, because I could have just left the peaches to rot or simply given the dessert away, and it must not have bothered him too much seeing how he had several servings…brothers can be such buttheads. He is also the brother that doesn’t like too much chocolate…how are we even related?!?!?) Anywho…you take said blueberries and perfectly ripe peaches, toss ‘em in a deep dish pie plate, smother ‘em with a hefty dose of coconut crumble, throw it in a preheated oven, squeeze in a quick workout (because we all know that workouts do not happen on weekends spent at home home. I always have good intentions but sleeping in, motorcycle rides, rocketering – totally a thing, socializing, and playing with the niece and nephew always takes precedent…) … snap a few quick pictures and load up the piping hot crumble in the car and hit the road…all the while praying that there are no quick stops along the way, because hot peach blueberry crumble would not be pretty inside my Jeep.
see..rocketering.
hands down…i am the best influence these kids have…
because where else would they learn illegal moves on a playground?
I know this might be my 1,986th recipe for peaches this summer, but I don’t think there has been a week that I haven’t been overloaded (in the best possible way) with peaches…and since I post what I am eating…peaches it is!
This crumble is very similar to my peach pie from a few weeks ago…so(ooo) if you were wondering if could just forgo the crust and make it a crumble, by golly you can!
- 1 Cup Old Fashioned Oats ( do not use instant)
- ¾ Cup All-Purpose Flour
- ½ Cup Dark Brown Sugar
- ½ Cup Sweetened Shredded Coconut
- ¼ Teaspoon Salt
- ½ Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 1 Stick Unsalted Butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 5 Large Peaches, pitted and sliced evenly (peeling is optional)
- 1 Pint Fresh Blueberries, picked over for stems
- 3 to 4 Tablespoons Cornstarch (use more if peaches are overly juicy)
- ½ Cup White Granulated Sugar
- ½ Teaspoon Almond Extract
- ½ Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- In a medium size mixing bowl, combine all topping ingredients ( oats, flour, dark brown sugar, coconut, salt, cinnamon, and melted butter) and mix with a fork until well incorporated. Place in fridge until ready to use.
- In a large mixing bowl, gently toss together peaches, blueberries, cornstarch, sugar, almond extract, cinnamon, and salt. Pour mixture into a deep dish pie plate or any oven safe dish that is at least 2 to 3 inches deep.
- Remove crumble topping from fridge and evenly top the fruit with the mixture.
- Place dish on a cookie sheet ( to prevent your oven from getting coated in fruit drippings). Place in preheated oven for 45 to 60 minutes (check in on it every 20 minutes or so) until topping is golden brown and the juices around the edge are bubbling. If the topping is getting too brown, just tent the dish with a piece of tinfoil for the remainder of the baking time.
- Remove from oven and let cool before serving.
- Best served with a scoop of vanilla or lemon ice cream!
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Peach Butter Breakfast Rolls
I need to open a bed and breakfast. Or work in one. Or live near one. Or run one. Some how or some way, a bed and breakfast needs to enter my life.
Have I watched too many episodes of the Gilmore Girls? Probably. With out a doubt. Because I also have a romantic notion about diners and ruggedly sarcastic, slightly bitter diner owners. And diners in general. And quaint towns? Do NOT even get me started. Stars Hollow…the ideal small town.
Small towns get me. Or I get them. Or we get each other. I feel right at home in small towns, with tree lined streets, and familiar faces strolling by. A town with a few restaurants. A coffee shop or two. A pizza parlor for Friday night date nights for the young and old. A park with ball fields and swings. Lord, there must be swings. An ice cream shop next to a used book store. Oh, and a movie theater, where classics are played along with the new summer blockbuster. And of course a bed and breakfast, all within walking distance to this quaint little downtown.
I haven’t a clue what would be near by to draw people to this town…maybe we would be nestled along the seaside, an old fishing village, with ragged cliffs and foamy, crashing waves. Or maybe someone famous will call the place home or called it home decades ago. Or perhaps we are located near a national treasure. Or maybe smack-dab in the middle of wine country.
Yeah, I have watched too many episodes of Gilmore Girls. And Dawson’s Creek. It is cool. Promise.
But the bed and breakfast is what is important. It is where I would fit in. It would be my contribution to the sleepy small town appeal. And for breakfast, during the summer…peach butter breakfast rolls would be served. Served alongside a hot cup of coffee and enjoyed over light morning conversation. Days would be planned and destinations mapped out, while yeasty rolls filled with peaches and cinnamon were savored. Children with sticky hands and mouths would be delighted and adults would take pause and slowly enjoy the morning meal.
Prepping the rolls
I have a bit of a romantic side to my thoughts. A vivid imagination. But those peach butter breakfast rolls are as real as you and I. Swear. I just ate one. Light and fluffy interior, lined with sticky peach butter and warm cinnamon. The tops brown and crusty and the bottoms are sticky sweet. With a touch of glaze, which isn’t necessary, but a nice touch, is just the cherry on top. With or without a bed and breakfast. With or without a weekend away in a sleepy little town. With or without the sound of waves crashing on the nearby waves or the sun rising over the hills of wine country…these peach butter breakfast rolls are totally doable in your own home.
No peach butter? Try apple butter. Personally, I am dying to try pumpkin butter with toasted pecans. Wowza.
- 4 + ½ to 5 Cups All – Purpose Flour
- 1 Cup Whole Milk
- 1 Stick Unsalted Butter, room temperature
- 3 Eggs
- ½ Cup White Granulated Sugar
- 1 + ½ Tablespoons Active Dry Yeast
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- 1 + ½ Cups Peach Butter
- ¾ Cup Light Brown Sugar, packed
- 2 Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
- 1 peach, sliced thinly ( no need to peel)
- 3 Ounces Cream Cheese, room temperature
- ¼ Cup Unsalted Butter, room temperature
- 1 + ½ Cups Powdered Sugar (confectioner’s sugar)
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 5-6 Tablespoons Milk ( adjust to desired icing consistency)
- Warm milk to about 95F. Mix in Sugar and yeast and let sit for 5 to 7 minutes. The mixture should be foamy and frothy – if it isn’t, your yeast is not alive and you will need to start over.
- Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, mix in butter, eggs, and salt.
- With mixer on low, add 4 + ¼ Cups of flour. Mix until combined. Turn mixer off, scrape down sides of the bowl, and switch to the dough hook. Beat dough with dough hook for another 7 to 10 minutes.
- Dust a clean work surface with flour. Transfer dough from mixing bowl to floured surface.
- Sprinkle dough with ½ Cup of flour and knead the flour into the dough. Continue to knead the dough until a soft, smooth, ball of dough forms. About 2 to 3 minutes of kneading. ( It will be ready, when you gently press it, the dough bounces back quickly…elastic like.)
- Transfer dough to a lightly greased bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and a tea towel. Place in a dry, warm place and let dough rise for about 1 – 1½ hours until the dough has doubled in size.
- While the dough is rising grease a 9 x 13 inch pan, mix together brown sugar and cinnamon, and slice the peach. Set it all aside.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll dough out into a 10 inch x 20 inch rectangle.
- Evenly spread peach butter over the dough and sprinkle the cinnamon and brown sugar mixture over the peach butter.
- Finally, scatter peach slices in a single layer over the whole shabang.
- Roll dough into a 20 inch log, keep it as tight as possible. ( you might find that the filling starts to squeeze out and that is fine, just keep rolling)
- Using a very sharp knife, cut the dough into 12 equal pieces ( cut the roll into quarters, and then cut each quarter into 3 equal pieces)
- Quickly transfer each roll into the prepared pan. Squeeze them all into fit. Loosely cover rolls with a tea towel and place in a dry, warm place to rise. Let rise for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 400F. Bake rolls for 20 to 30 minutes until golden brown and the filling is bubbling. ( when you press on the top of a roll, there will be very little give)
- Remove from oven and let rest for 30 minutes. Make the icing.
- Beat together softened cream cheese and butter. Add salt and vanilla. With mixer on low, slowly add powdered sugar and beat until well combined. Add milk, tablespoon by tablespoon, until desired consistency is reached.
- Drizzle icing onto warm rolls or upon serving.
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Peach Butter
My Aunt Sue, a true peach lover, traipsed out into the peach orchards of Ohio…wait, Ohio has peach orchards? Georgia be darned…we Ohioians know how to grow some peaches. And peaches, my aunt did pick. My aunt ended up picking some 1 + 1/2 to 2 bushels of peaches. For herself. One women. 2 bushels of peaches. Why and how were my first questions.
Why did she pick so many? She is just one woman.( I do not think my uncle shares in her fanatical love for peaches – however, if she had been picking from chocolate trees, he would have had her pick 3 bushels!) Her love for fresh, juicy, ripe peaches mixed with a decent drive to the peach orchard lead her to picking so many. I have fallen into this trap with apples and strawberries…so I will not poke fun. It happens to the best of us.
And how was she going to eat 2 bushels of peaches. By herself? She chuckled at this as she explained how she was eating a peach with each meal and in-between meals (that is 6+ peaches per day if you were counting) and that she was sharing them with every soul she encountered. And yet, she would still need to slice and freeze what remained before they invariably became overripe, mealy, and well…rotten. And lucky enough for me, I was one of those fortunate souls to score a large bag of Ohio peaches. Well my mom was the actual recipient, but I was able to steal a few from her grasp…And by a few, I had 5lbs. of peaches when it was said and done.
And finally, the what landed square on my shoulders. What was I going to do with 5lbs. of peaches? I, too, was only one woman and I am not a 6 per day peach eater…But, I do love a good fruit butter. Probably more so than the normal human being. I, mean, yeah I could have made a pie or crumble or ice cream, but peach butter would allow me to enjoy the peaches for weeks to come (OK, days…lets be serious, I have been eating it by the spoonful). I like it best slathered on english muffins, toast, pb sandwiches, or my favorite…saltines.
There are a gazillion different methods for making a fruit butter. Crockpot, stove-top, oven…if it conducts heat, you can make a fruit butter in it or on it. I chose the stove top, since I was making a rather small batch and didn’t have the patience to wait 6+ hours for the final product (crockpot) nor did I feel comfortable sticking it in the oven. This is a rather time consuming project, but doesn’t need to be watched constantly, just checked in on every ten or so minutes and more often towards the end….however, I found it quite satisfying and worth the time when it finally thickened and the flavor and texture matched what was in my minds eye. Moments like this are what keep me coming back for more.
- 3 pounds Fresh Peaches (about 12-14 medium peaches), peeled and pitted
- ¾ Cup Water
- 1 + ½ Cups White Granulated Sugar
- Juice of 1 Lemon
- ½ Teaspoon Cinnamon
- Slice peeled and pitted peaches into uniform slices/chunks.
- Add peaches and water to a large pot over medium heat. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer until peaches have softened, about 10-15 minutes.
- Remove from heat and place peaches in a food processor and process mixture until smooth. An immersion blender or regular blender would also get the job done. ( I like a smooth butter, but feel free to make it chunky!)
- Return peach pulp to the pan and stir in sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon.
- Place over medium heat and bring mixture to a slight boil and continue to cook for an additional 60-75 minutes (this time may vary depending on the weather, level of humidity, amount of water in peaches, etc…so be prepared for this to take more or less time), stirring every ten or so minutes and more often towards the end to prevent scorching. The butter will be done when a heaping teaspoonful keeps its shape and remains rounded.
- Allow peach butter to cool before placing in jars with tight fitting lids. Store in fridge. It will keep in fridge for upto 2 weeks. You are more than welcome to can this peach butter, however I am not a canning expert.
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Peach Crumble Pie
Man, are we in the dog days of summer. And if I were a dog, I would be begging and pleading to be shaved. And as the person hearing a dog talk, I would oblige, because all that hair has to be hot and I have always wanted to shave an animal. I can’t explain it. It is like I should have been a sheep farmer. They get to shave/sheer animals all the time. I bet they don’t even enjoy doing it. I think I missed my calling.
Did I just really confess my desire to shave animals? Oy. If you don’t believe me, my mom will tell you stories of me growing up pleading with her to let me shave our dog. Poor Winston. I did, however, hit him in the head with a bat and he had seizures the rest of his life. Oh brother…I am not looking very good in the eyes of animal lovers. Or anyone. It was on accident…swear. He was chasing the same ball that I was trying to hit. Can we blame my grandma? She is the one that was pitching. Oh geez…now I am hitting dogs with bats and blaming grandmothers…I am just going to stop.
Peaches anyone? Nice sagway right?
These peaches are from my CSA bag last week. After a few days on my counter, they were ready to eat…at the same time, all in one day. Argh! Don’t you love how that happens? The only way I know how to use 7 ripe peaches in one day is to make a pie. And seriously, why do I have 7 peaches? I definitely know how to feed an army, but for one? I wonder if I will ever figure that out. Until I do…sweet ripe fruit will be finding its way into flaky pie crusts and sometimes, if I am feeling funky…crumb topping will be piled sky high. Butter and sugar atop ripe summer fruit, all wrapped up in a buttery flakey pie crust…need I say more? No. I don’t. Never. Ever. Again.
You are gonna need pie crust. This, you can do. I have total and utter faith in you…Be bold. Get to it!
And ripe juicy peaches. Pit those suckers and don’t bother peeling. That is a pain in the arse and not necessary if your peaches are thin skinned. Being thin skinned has its perks…if you are peach.
Slice. Toss. Do it with a gentle hand…no mashing those delicate peaches. They are dainty…how southern of them. Yes, I assume most things that are southern are dainty. Never said I was right in the head.
Pile those peaches high. Pack them tight. Leave no wiggle room. We are making peach pie, not air pie. Seriously, this is why I love summer.
And now the tricky part…crumb topping without making a mess. Ha! Handful by handful, pile it high. Those lost crumb pieces…they were delicious. But again, it is butter mixed with sugar…
Pie complete. Well, almost. It has a date with the oven. A hot date.
PIE! Peach crumble pie…Oh I want to curl up in this pie and eat my way out. Have I mentioned my love for pie? Because I LOVE pie.
- CRUST
- 1 Cup Flour
- 6 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, very cold
- 2 Tablespoons Vegetable Shortening
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Granulated White Sugar
- 3-4 Tablespoons Ice Water
- FILLING
- 6-8 Medium Peaches, pits removed and evenly sliced
- 1 Cup Granulated White Sugar ( can cut down to ¾ Cup if peaches are sweet)
- ⅔ Cup All-Purpose Flour
- ½ Teaspoon Almond Extract
- ¼ Teaspoon Salt
- Juice of 1 Lemon
- 1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- ⅛ Teaspoon Ground Coriander
- CRUMB TOPPING
- 1 Cup Old Fashioned Oats
- 1 Cup All-Purpose Flour
- ¼ Cup White Granulated Sugar
- ¼ Cup Brown Sugar
- ¼ Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Stick Unsalted Butter, melted and slightly cooled.
- Prepare Crust. I prefer making pie crust in a food processor. In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar. Pulse several times to combine ingredients. Add very cold butter and vegetable shortening and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds.
- With food processor running, slowly add ice water in a steady stream until the dough starts to form a ball. You do not want the dough to be wet or sticky. The amount of water needed can vary each time dough is made. It is best to add water slowly, tablespoon by tablespoon until the dough starts to come together.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shape in a round, flat disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour before using.
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- One hour later…Roll dough out into a circle, 12 inches in diameter. After a few strokes with the rolling pin, rotate the dough, making sure it isn’t sticking to the work surface. Carefully, fit dough into a pie plate (don’t stretch) and crimp edges. Place in freezer until ready to use.
- Prepare crumb topping. In a medium bowl, combine 1 Cup oats, 1 Cup flour, ¼ Cup white and brown sugar, ¼ teaspoon salt, and 1 stick melted butter. Mix to combine and place in fridge until ready to use.
- Prepare filling. In a small bowl, whisk together 1 cup sugar, ⅔ cup flour, ¼ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and ⅛ teaspoon coriander.
- In a larger mixing bowl, toss sliced peaches with ½ teaspoon almond extract and the juice of 1 lemon.
- Sprinkle dry ingredients over sliced peaches and toss carefully to coat peaches.
- Remove pie crust from freezer and evenly place peaches in pie crust.
- Carefully top pie with crumb topping. You will need to gently press the crumb topping onto the peach filling, ever so carefully.
- Place pie onto a cookie sheet (will catch any drippings) and transfer to preheated oven. Bake for 15 minutes and then reduce oven temperature to 375F and bake for an additional 45-60 minutes until the crumb topping is golden brown and the juices are bubbling. The crumb topping will brown before the juices begin to bubble. Wait for the juices to bubble! If the crumb topping or crust begin to brown too quickly, tent with a piece of tinfoil.
- Remove from oven and place on wire rack and a let cool completely before slicing.
- If it is humid out, the crumb topping my begin to soften within a day or 2. Do not cover pie until completely cool to avoid crumb topping from softening.
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Black Raspberry and Peach Summer Cake
OK, so I spent the weekend kinda sorta camping. But not really at all. Home camping. Is that such a thing? Well, it is now.
And I don’t mean pitching a tent in the backyard…even though that was fun when we were ten.
I am not going to get into the particulars of the weekend because, well…it wasn’t flattering. For anyone involved. To put things simply, my parent’s home was hit by the storms over the weekend. Trees came down, holes in porches happened, and power lines were severed. Leaving the residents of our small town (and pretty much the entire state of Ohio and beyond) without power. And in my small town, no power = no water. The wonders of well water people. Enter this overwhelming sensation of camping, but not. Maybe if we had made s’mores or built a campfire…but we didn’t.
A few tidbits to keep in mind when your power goes out…
1) This is the time when it is totally OK to eat all that ice cream in the freezer. It will be the first to go. So, invite neighbors and have an impromptu ice cream social…what else are you going to do?
2) Know where your UNO cards or Monopoly board is…this may be your only entertainment.
3) Learn how to open and close/lock your garage door without electricity. Do this now, when you have power…you will need this skill. Promise.
4) If you aren’t a fan of roughing it…buy a generator. But that is cheating.
5) Always keep fresh batteries in your flashlights. It will get dark inside fast. Like, real fast.
6) Candles are a great light source….and make the whole situation more romantic than it really is. Oh, and if you had a grandmother like mine, great entertainment for children.
7) Find the funny. Otherwise you will focus on the unpleasantness of it all.
8) Know where your car phone charger is…your phone will be your only distraction, keep it charged.
9) You can totally make coffee using a grill. Add Bailey’s to that coffee and your day without power will start much smoother. Promise.
Thankfully, my parents got power back on Monday evening and besides losing a tree, a bit of damage to the porch, and losing the entire contents of the fridge/freezer…they are OK. It definitely could have been worse. Much worse.
You wanna know what is great during a power outage? Cake. How about black raspberry and peach cake…yeah, sure why not. When making this, I didn’t have a power outage in mind…nopers, I was thinking of eating this poolside all weekend, with maybe a dollop of whipped cream…but instead we ate in the dark with warm diet coke. So much for plans!
Black Raspberry and Peach Summer Cake
Makes a 9 x 13in. cake
Ingredients
- 1+ 1/2 Sticks (3/4 Cup) Unsalted Butter, room temperature
- 2 + 1/4 Cup White Granulated Sugar, divided
- 3 Eggs
- 1 + 1/2 Cup Plain Yogurt
- 1 + 1/2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 3 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 + 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Soda
- 1 + 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
- 3/4 Teaspoon Salt
- 1 + 1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 4 Medium Peaches; peeled, pitted, and evenly sliced
- 1 Pint Fresh Black Raspberries
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