Peach Scones

I like peaches but I am very particular about them. I like them fresh off the tree. I will occasionally buy the ones in the stores since they look so good but a lot of times they are misleading. They are hard so I've tried a number of tricks to get them ripen. I've tried just being patient. I've tried putting them in the paper bag trick. They always seem bruised when they finally reach the ultimate ripeness. I will admit I have a young son in the house who thinks his profession is to juggle especially fruit. I haven't caught him yet with peaches but one never knows. He is stealthy too especially when he thinks he needs to sharpen his ninja skills. These peaches are freshly picked. My children thought they were great.

Peach Scones about 15 to 18 scones
3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar plus more for topping
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
10 Tbsp unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes
1/2 cup milk
1 cup peaches, diced


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
3. In a food processor, process the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon for 30 seconds. 
4. Add the butter to the food processor. Pulse for about 20 times.
5. Add the peaches. Do not pulse.
6. Slowly, add the milk while pulsing the food processor. Continue to pulse until the dough begins to stick together about 20 pulses.
7. Place about 1/4 cup of dough onto the baking sheet. Leave about 3 inches space between each scone.
8. Sprinkle the top of the scones with a little sugar.
9. Bake the scones for about 14 minutes or until golden brown.
10. Serve warm or eat within a few days. 

Recipe by Jen of Sweet Morris.

One year ago...............................I made Shortbread Cookies.

You are going to share, right?

Did you already know.................
-Peaches originated from China.
-White flesh peaches are lower acidic than the peach flesh peaches.
-There are two main types of peaches. Clingstone peaches have the flesh stick to the stone. Freestone peaches have the stone separate easily from the flesh. 

Peach and Pluot Cobbler

Good Morning! This week for Project Pastry Queen was a wild card. Of all the recipes I haven't tried, it really wasn't a hard choice which one I was going to make. See, I had been given two bags full of peaches so I had a starting point. I had also purchased a large container of pluots so I needed to use them up too. When I noticed the Hill Country Peach Cobbler recipe, I knew it was perfect with what I had on hand.

Since it was a previously picked recipe by Josie, I was able to read the great reviews for this recipe. I will admit my batter did overflow so if you decide to make this either use a very large pan or just place a dish under it. The topping is not your typical heavy crust. It was light and sweet. It accompanied the browned butter, fruit filling perfect. This recipe is adaptable for many different fruit combinations. As I even type this recipe, I want more!

Peach and Pluot Cobbler
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
3/4 cup milk
2 cups fresh peaches, sliced or peeled
1 cup fresh pluot, sliced or peeled with skin removed
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degress F.
2. In a small saute pan, melt the butter over medium high heat until it bubbles and turns a nut-brown color.
3. Pour the butter into an 8 inch square baking dish.
4. In a medium bowl, stir the sugar, flour, baking powder, and milk.
5. Pour the milk mixture over the melted butter. DO NOT STIR.
6. Arrange the fruit evenly over the top of the milk mixture. Do not mix. 
7. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the cobbler.
8. Bake the cobbler for 40 to 45 minutes, until the top turns a golden brown.
9. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Recipe adapted from the The Pastry Queen cookbook by Rebecca Rather. 

Did you already know....
-A pluot is an hybrid of a plum and an apricot.
-Pluots are a good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and fiber.
-Pluots were created by Floyd Zaiger by using cross pollination.

Peacharine Cream Cheese Tart

This is a regular scheduled interruption from the British postings. All right I will admit I'm pretty good at math but when it comes to conversions, I need extra practice. Oh, these British recipes are giving me some practice. When I have mastered some recipes by remaking them, I will have some delicious recipes to share. 

At least, I had no problem making this delicious cream cheese tart. This recipe was picked by Emily of A Gilt Nutmeg for the Pastry Queen Project. I know it came out pretty good when my husband told me that he doesn't normally like peaches but this tart is oh so good. He ate two. (This is how I get my husband to eat fruit occasionally.) Now, you can easily substitute another type of fruit for the topping like apples or pears. I actually used peacharines instead of peaches. I think only half of each peacharine made it into the dessert. Oh, how I love peaches and nectarines but peacharines are the best of two loves.

Peacharine Cream Cheese Tart
Lemon Zest Tart Crust:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp lemon zest
11 Tbsp chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 egg
1/4 cup heavy cream, chilled

Cheese Filling:
16 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 tsp lemon zest
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt

Fruit Topping:
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
5 large peaches, sliced thin

Glaze:
1/2 cup apricot jam
1/4 cup water

To make the tart crust:

1. In a food processor, add the flour, salt, sugar, and lemon zest.
2. Pulse the flour mixture for about 30 seconds.
3. Add the chilled butter and pulse about 20 times. The mixture should look crumbly with bits of dough the size of dried peas.
4. In a small bowl, whisk the egg and heavy cream together.
5. Slowly, add 1/2 of the beaten egg mixture to the food processor while it is running. Continue to slowly add more egg mixture if needed until the dough forms a ball. (I only had to use 1/2 of the egg mixture.)
6. Pat the dough into a disk and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

To make the filling:

1. In a mixer, cream the cream cheese and sugar until fluffy.
2. Add the vanilla and eggs. Beat for 1 minute on medium high speed.
3. Add the lemon zest, flour, and salt. Mix until incorporated. Set aside.

To assemble the tart:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Take the dough out of the refrigerator. 
3. Roll the dough to 1/8 inch thickness.
4. Using a large glass or biscuit cutter, cut out 4 inch circles.
5. Add the circles to a muffin tin and form the dough into the cups.
6. Add about 3 Tbsp cream cheese mixture into the center of each dough cups. Place in the refrigerator until needed.

To make the fruit topping:

1. In a medium bowl, combine the ground cinnamon, sugar, and sliced fruit.
2. Top each cream cheese mixture with the sliced fruit. 
3. Bake the tarts for about 30 to 40 minutes. The tart crust should be golden brown.

To make the glaze:

1. About 10 minutes before the tarts are done baking, combine the apricot jam with the water. Set aside until needed. 

To complete the tarts:

1. Remove the tarts from the oven and brush each tart immediately with the glaze.
2. Allow the tarts to cool for at least 1 hour before serving.
3. When cooled, cover tightly and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
4. Serve at room temperature.

Recipe adapted from The Pastry Queen cookbook by Rebecca Rather.

Did you already know...
-Peacharines are an hybriad of a peach and a nectarine.
-The peacharine has minimal fuzz with a milder taste than a peach.
-Peacharines are high in Carotene and Vitamin C.