Just Desserts

Strawberry and White Peach Buttermilk-Maple Cobbler
There are so many delicious ingredients in the title of this recipe . . . I'm not quite sure where to start. Summer entertaining is hands-down awesome! An evening outdoors with good friends and grilling is one of the greatest pleasures in life. The only thing that can make those moments sweeter is just the right dessert. Right now we're in a produce transition from my favorite early summer strawberries into stone fruits and (lucky for me) the local co-op is brimming with both. Strawberries or white peaches? Which to choose? Well, duh . . . both. Cobblers are a fun way to take advantage of delicious summer fruits with an even easier-than-pie pastry topping. I found maple sugar at Trader Joe's and had to try it. The unique flavor of this sweetener hit a memorable note on my taste buds. Try it! You're definitely in for a treat.

Ingredients

- 1 pt. fresh strawberries, rinsed, hulled, and sliced lengthwise

- 4 white peaches, peeled and sliced

- 1/2 c. sugar

- 1/4 c. honey

- 1 Tbsp. cinnamon

- 1 Tbsp. freshly grated ginger

- juice from 1 lemon

-  2 Tbsp. tapioca

- 2 Tbsp. corn starch

- 6 Tbsp. cold butter, cut into small peices

- About 1 c. buttermilk

- 2 c. flour

- 1 Tbsp. baking powder

- 1/2 c. maple sugar

- 1 tsp. vanilla

- 1 egg

- 1 tsp. salt

- 2 Tbsp. large-grained sugar for sanding

In a medium bowl, combine strawberries, peaches, 1/2 c. sugar, honey, cinnamon, fresh ginger, lemon, tapioca, and corn starch. Stir gently to combine thoroughly and set aside. Allow mixture to rest for 15-20 minutes for the fruit to soften while preparing the biscuit topping. 

Preheat oven to 400˚F. In a glass measuring cup, whisk together egg with enough buttermilk to make about a cup of liquid. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour with baking powder, salt, and maple sugar. Place pieces of cold butter into the flour mixture and work in together with a pastry blender until a coarse mixture forms.

Slowly pour buttermilk mixture and vanilla into the flour mixture and work with a pastry blender until a lumpy batter forms. If it is too dry, add a few extra splashes of buttermilk. The batter should be rather thick and lumpy with a silky sheen to it.

After the berries and peaches have softened, pour mixture into a 9" baking dish. Spoon tablespoons of the buttermilk biscuit mixture evenly over the berries. Sprinkle the topping with large-grained sanding sugar. Bake cobbler in oven for 25-30 minutes on a foil-lined baking sheet until the berry juice begins to bubble and run out of the dish and the topping begins to brown. Serve with fresh whipped cream or your favorite gelato . . . great summer dessert!

  

Just Peachy

Perfect Peach Pie to Put in Your Face

For a long time I was intimidated by the concept of pastry. I was convinced I would somehow screw it up. Growing up, my mom would consistently turn out the most delicious desserts (among other things) and encourage me to bake a pie. When I refused she would comment with exasperation, "They say 'easy as pie' because pies are easy to make." Well, Mom was right after all. I didn't discover this, of course, until I actually went an made a pie myself. Yes . . . it is easy. Particularly when you have a perfect buttery crust recipe and delicious fresh fruit or berries with which to fill it. Late summer and early fall is the perfect time for pie. Stone fruits abound! My mom gave me this crust recipe years ago and it's my favorite- perfect for almost any pie and a snap to whip up in the food processor. The key is- don't handle to dough too much and work with COLD butter and COLD water.

Ingredients
CRUST
- 2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
- 1/4 c. sugar
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 c. cold butter, cut into 1/2" cubes (my favorite is the Irish Kerrygold butter)
- 4-6 Tbsp. ice water

FILLING
- 6 c. fresh peaches, peeled, sliced
- 2 Tbsp. minute tapioca
- 2 Tbsp. cornstarch
- 3/4 c. sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 Tbsp. butter

To make the crust. Place flour, sugar, salt, and butter in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until well combined and crumbly. With the motor running, add water one tablespoon at a time through the feed tube until mixture gathers on top of the blade. Remove dough from food processor, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate until ready to use. This makes enough dough for a two-crust 9" pie.

For the filling combine peaches, tapioca, cornstarch, sugar, salt, lemon juice, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Stir gently and allow to sit for about 20 minutes to soften the tapioca.

While filling rests, cut dough into two equal pieces and roll each out onto a floured surface. Roll pie bottom out into a 9" pie pan. Fill with filling and trim crust to about 1" from the edge of pan. Cut 1 Tbsp. of butter into the pie and top with other piece of crust. Cut vents in top crust and crimp together edges. Sprinkle top of crust with extra sugar.

Place pie onto a heavy foil-lined cookie sheet and bake at 400˚ for 10 minutes. Reduce heat and bake an additional 50-60 minutes until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbly. Let cool at least one hour before serving with fresh whipped cream or ice cream. Easy as pie . . .