Peach Cobbler Scones

In addition to the North Fork scones I also made these scones this weekend, but saved them for the Robber who loves peach pie so much that I thought he might love these scones too. And he did! They ended up sitting on the counter, formed but unbaked, for several hours so I don't think ours rose very high and also because I used baking powder with aluminum yes, the peaches did turn grey within 48 hours, but the Robber happily consumed them. What I liked about these was that the dough itself was not very sweet so it really did feel like a cobbler and not so much like a cake and had a nice salty-sweet contrast which is the Robber's love. Definitely worth a re-visit next summer when the peaches are back in season!

From Annie's Eats:

http://annies-eats.com/2012/08/13/peach-cobbler-scones/

Ingredients:

3 C. all-purpose flour

¼ C. sugar

1 T. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

¾ tsp. salt

1½ sticks (12 T.) unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes

1 large egg, beaten

1 tsp. vanilla extract

¾ C. buttermilk, plus more for brushing

1-2 ripe peaches, sliced thin (I used 1 1/2 and ate the remaining 1/2 peach)

For the cinnamon-sugar (can likely only make half this amount):

2 T. sugar

¾ tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.

2. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a mixing bowl.  Whisk briefly to blend.  

3. Add the butter to the bowl and cut the butter into the dry ingredients using a pastry cutter or two knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal and the largest butter pieces are the size of peas.  

4. Stir in the egg, vanilla, and buttermilk and mix gently with a fork until a dough forms.  Knead briefly, about 10-15 times, until the dough has come together.  Be careful to avoid over handling the dough, as it can result in tough, dense scones.

5. Turn the dough out onto a well floured work surface.  (If the dough is too soft to shape, chill it for about 15 minutes before proceeding.)  Roll the dough out into a 10 x 12-inch rectangle.  

6. Brush half of the dough lightly with buttermilk.  Lay the peach slices in a single layer over the buttermilk side of the dough.  Sprinkle evenly with about half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture.  Carefully fold the other side of the dough over the peaches as if closing a book and press down gently.  Slice the dough into 8-12 equal sized pieces. Transfer to the prepared baking sheets.  

7. Brush the top of each scone with buttermilk and sprinkle with additional cinnamon-sugar.  Bake until the tops are golden brown and the scones are baked through, about 15-18 minutes.  Let cool 2-3 minutes on the baking sheet, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool further.  

Note: The shaped, unbaked scones may also be frozen on a baking sheet and then transferred to a freezer-safe container.  Bake as directed straight from the freezer, simply adding a few minutes to the baking time and checking for doneness.  

Creamy Peach Tart with Smoky Almond Crust

Sometimes when I read other people's food blogs I feel like all they ever do is post dessert recipes and I think to myself, "How are these people not HUGE? Don't they eat anything besides sugar?"... and then I do a little self-reflection and realize that in the last month I have posted cookie, pie, bar, cake, whatever recipes and precious little in the way of anything else. Hrmmmm.

Don't think this is everything the Robber and I eat. I think there are a number of reasons why I'm more likely to post a new dessert recipe than a non-dessert recipe, most of which revolve around the Robber's preferences, my own spirit of adventure, our eating patterns at work, and our love of hummus, goat cheese, bell peppers, pita bread, and grilled meat. But excuses aside, perhaps we do eat a bit much too sugar. Even when we are sharing.

This following recipe we did not share, but we did enjoy it, even the Robber who was deeply deeply skeptical of the smoky almonds in the crust until he tasted it and realized you can't even tell and that the filling was much akin to the beloved "cheesecake pie" of his childhood. I baked this in a pie plate because I don't have a springform pan (see previous post) and if I were making this again, would 1.5 times the recipe to make more filling and just turn it into a pie. We replaced the peaches with nectarines with good results and the Robber happily ate a third of it while I was sleeping last night.

Mildly adapted from Food and Wine Magazine August 2011.

Ingredients:

2 C. vanilla wafer cookies

1/2 C. smoked almonds

6 T. sugar

5 T. unsalted butter, melted

8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature

1/4 C. sour cream

1 egg

2-3 firm, ripe medium peaches, cut into wedges

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Using a food processor or other instrument, crush wafer cookies and almonds until fine crumbs are obtained. Combine wafer crumbs, almond crumbs, and 2T. sugar. Add melted butter and stir until the crumbs are evenly moistened.

2. Press the crumbs into the bottom and 1/2 inch up the side of a 9" springform pan. Bake for ten minutes at 350F until the crust is set.

3. While the crust is baking, combine cream cheese, sour cream, egg, and 2T. of the sugar and blend with electric mixer until smooth. Pour the cheese mixture into the crust and bake for 15 minutes, until set. 

4. Allow to cool slightly and transfer to freezer to chill, about 15 minutes. (Do not allow to freeze thoroughly.)

5. In a bowl, toss the peaches with the remaining 2T. of sugar. Arrange the peaches in 2 concentric circles over the custard. Remove the ring, cut the tart in wedges and serve. 

Brown Butter Nectarine Cobbler/Cake

I made this a while back when the nectarines were on sale and we were invited to go to a friend's birthday affair. I ended up getting busy and couldn't make it for the event on time, but had purchased the nectarines and they were ripe and fussing to be used so I made it the next day for the Robber and me. The combination of flavors is satisfying in a subtle way, they all blend together without a grand pronouncement, just deliciousness, and a hint of browned butter. The texture of the cake was not satisfying for me as cake, and was not biscuity enough to pull off being a cobbler. Something in between. A satisfying way to bake with nectarines, but not likely to get made again too soon with the end of summer coming. What I might do however is use the almond topping part again-- that is a nice little tool of goodness.

From Mark Bittman:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/27/dining/brown-butter-nectarine-cobblercake-recipe.html?_r=1&ref=dining

Ingredients:

For the fruit filling:

3 C. fresh nectarines or peaches in 1/2-inch slices, about 1 pound

3/4 C. sugar

1 tsp. lemon juice

4 T. unsalted butter

For the cake:

3/4 C. flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/8 tsp. salt

3/4 C. buttermilk

For the nut topping:

1/4 C. sliced almonds

1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

2 T. Demerara sugar

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the fruit slices, 1/4 cup sugar and lemon juice. Stirring constantly, bring the mixture to a simmer, then take the pan off the heat.

2. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and cook, swirling the pan occasionally, until it smells very nutty, turns golden, and flecks of dark brown appear, 2 to 3 minutes. Pour the brown butter into an 8-inch-by-8-inch baking dish.

3. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, remaining 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder and salt. Pour the buttermilk into the dry ingredients and mix just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Scrape the batter on top of the brown butter, use a spatula to even out the batter but be careful not to mix it into the butter. Scatter the nectarine slices and juice on top of the batter without stirring. Sprinkle with the almonds, nutmeg and Demerara sugar. Bake until golden brown, 50 to 55 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool. Serve warm.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

Moosewood Noodle Kugel

Oh Moosewood. How I have missed you long these summer nights, when feasting from the freshness of the earth I have not had your recipes to guide my hand!

I'm back in Rochester and that means back to the Moosewood and my Vegetable Tuesday adventures. I'm easing back in. This recipe is one I tried last year but never blogged. It is easy and produces a simple, rich dish you can serve as a dessert or an entree. Once you've had a noodle kugel it quickly becomes a comfort food, something you can eat on cold or sad nights and feel warmth inside of your stomach and a little boost to the soul. I'm always surprised to find out that few people seem to have experienced kugel before, but I am always happy to introduce them to such a fabulous new food.

Ingredients:

4 cups raw wide flat egg noodles, boiled in salted water, drained, and buttered

3 eggs
1 1/2 cups cottage cheese
3/4 cup sour cream (or yogurt)
8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup honey
few dashes salt

2 medium cooking apples or 2 fresh, ripe peaches, sliced

1 cup bread crumbs
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup brown sugar

Directions:

1) Combine bread crumbs to brown sugar in a separate bowl and set aside as crumb mixture.

2) Combine eggs to salt in a blender and beat together until smooth.

3) Combine buttered noodles, egg mixture, and peaches together. Spread into a well-buttered casserole dish.

4) Top with the crumb mixture and dot with butter. Bake uncovered for 35 minutes at 375F.

5) Serve warm or chilled.


You can omit the sour cream and the butter on the noodles or on the top. The dish is plenty rich enough without it! You can also probably use neufchatel instead of cream cheese for a more low fat version. I like to use wheat noodles in this dish, I feel like it gives it a deeper, healthier flavor. You can also use different flavorings-- for this one I used almond extract and added some sliced almonds to the crumb mixture on the top.

Serves 6-8. Enjoy!

Baked Custard

My classmate E. and I promised to bake together Saturday night, and when the time came she had custard cups-- brand-new-- and I had nothing but some eggs (we even had to borrow one of those) and some chocolate chips, so we settled on this custard recipe from the Moosewood and a little Harry Potter V to go along with it. The dark richness of the custard... er paralleled... the scenes from the movie.

There are three variations of this recipe, we made the first.

BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE CUSTARD

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups milk (lowfat works just fine)
3/4 to 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (depending on how deeply chocophilic you are)
4 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1) Preheat over to 350F. Have ready six ovenproof custard cups and a 9 x 13 baking pan. (We used just four custard cups and filled them up.)

2) Place the milk and the chocolate chips in a small saucepan. Heat gently, stirring occasionally, until all the chips are melted. Remove from heat and stir until blended. Allow to cool for about 15 minutes.

3) Place the remaining ingredients in a blender or food processor. Add the milk mixture, scraping in all the wayward clumps of chocolate, and whip until frothy.

4) Divide the batter among the custard cups. Place them in the baking pan, and half-fill it with water. Bake 40 to 45 minutes, or until the custards are solid in the center when shaken.

5) Carefully remove the cups from the baking pan. Cool to room temperature, then cover each one tightly with plastic wrap and chill.

MAPLE CUSTARD

1) Omit the chocolate chips. Add 1/3 cup real maple syrup. Optional: Add a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg.

2) Omit step 2 above. Blend all ingredients together as in Step 3 and bake as directed above.

MAPLE-PEACH CUSTARD

1) Make Maple Custard batter. Divide 1 1/2 to 2 cups sliced fresh peaches among the custard cups, pour the custard over the peaches, and bake as directed.