Sweet Summer Peaches

Well, I saw the movie Julie & Julia today. I thought it was visually delicious. But it made me hungry! As I raced home, my plan was to make quick carbonara pasta to satisfy the insane hunger brought on by that movie. My dinner plans changed when I entered the kitchen. The smell of sweet, ripe peaches filled the room, and I knew I would be having dessert for dinner (once again).

I decided to cook the peaches into a peach sauce with a little nutmeg and ginger, and use the sauce to top some shortbread biscuits. A perfect summer snack! The recipe is actually really easy, but wonderfully flavorful. If you don’t have peaches, you could try using another juicy fruit (any berry would work) and whatever spices compliment your fruit of choice! Also, here is a trick for peeling peaches that I learned recently: Boil a pot of water. Immerse your peaches in boiling water for 30 seconds. Then immediately take them out of the boiling water and put them in a bowl of cold water (add a little ice to the water to keep it cold). Peel the peaches in the cold water and the skin will almost fall right off!

SUMMER PEACH SHORTCAKE
Ingredients For the Shortcake:
1 ¾ C. flour
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
½ C. milk
½ C. whipping cream

Ingredients For the Peach Sauce:
2 ripe peaches
¼ C. water
1/3 C. sugar
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
¼ tsp. fresh nutmeg
¼ tsp. ginger
½ tsp. potato starch flour


Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with a baking mat. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Then add the milk and whipping cream all at once. Mix together quickly with a fork until combined.
2. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for 1-2 minutes. Pat into a rectangle about 3x5 inches. Cut the dough once going down the middle of the rectangle length. Then cut the dough two times across the width, making a total of 6 squares. Place the squares on the prepared cookie sheet. Get a little melted butter and brush the tops generously with butter. Bake at 400 degrees for 13 minutes, or until browned on top.
3. Meanwhile, peel and dice the peaches. Put the peaches, water, and sugars in a saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium. Add the nutmeg and ginger, simmer for 5 minutes. Then add the potato starch flour and simmer for a minute more.
4. Slice the shortcake in half. Put the peach sauce inside the shortcake and on top. If you make this recipe ahead (or eat leftovers), be sure to warm up the peach sauce before serving!