Classic Peach Cobbler

I feel like this summer has passed by so quickly. It's already the end of August! With the end of summer, you get peaches. Peaches and nectarines are transitioning out, but are still in season. They're going to be well prices and flavorful. I tossed a few peaches with some brown sugar, spices, and topped with with a flaky pie dough. It's a southern classic that praises the end of summer and sings in the new season.

Peach Cobbler (serves 2-4)
3 Peaches
2 tbsp Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/8 tsp Clove
1/8 tsp Nutmeg
1/8 tsp Ginger
1 tbsp Corn Starch
pinch Salt
1/2 stick Cold Butter
3 oz Flour
pinch Salt
1 oz Cold Water

1. Peel peaches and cut into a large dice, about 1 inch thick
2. Toss the peaches in brown sugar, spices, salt, and corn starch. Allow to sit.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
4. Cut butter into small dices.
5. Place butter into a mixing bowl with flour and salt. Mix with a paddle attachment until the butter is broken down and flaky. If you don't have a mixer, you can use your fingers to press the butter and rub it together to break up the pieces.
6. Add the water to the flour mixture and allow it to form a loose dough.
7. Wrap the dough and allow to chill for about 30 minutes.
8. Place the peaches into a small cast iron skillet or a casserole dish.
9. Roll out the dough into a disk that covers the skillet.
10. Brush the dough with egg wash (1 egg, a little water, salt) and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Cut a few slits in the top to vent.
11. Bake the cobbler for 30-45 minutes, until golden brown.

The warm spices bring fall to your palate with the cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and ginger. It's juxtaposed with bright peaches. The flaky crust is the best pairing for the warm peaches, and it's even better complimented with ice cream.

This is best served warm, just a few minutes out of the oven. I like spooning a generous portion onto a plate with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. I would definitely suggest you try this out before summer leaves us for the year!

Apple Galette

Fall seems to be the perfect season for anything apple. Who doesn't crave a warm slice of apple pie with a scoop of smooth ice cream? Galettes are beautiful pastries that are kind of a cross between a pie and a tart. It's great because you don't need a pie pan or tart shell to make it! The free form crust is a simple, elegant finish to a lovely seasonal dessert.

Apple roses seem to be all the rage lately. They are so beautiful with an understated elegance. It's the perfect way to finish any apple dessert. The key to creating something with a slight delicacy is to have the apples shaved thin. I used a mandolin to shave my apples, and it allowed me to be able to form the flowers without breakage. It requires some additional patience, but it is well worth it.

Apple Galette
Crust
9 oz Flour
1.5 stick Butter
.5 tsp Salt
3 oz Cold Water

1. Cut the cold butter into small cubes (1cm x 1cm).
2. Put the pieces into the flour and salt. Make sure each cube is coated.
3. Press the butter to flat pieces.
4. Rub the butter between your fingers to make flakes. Continue until the butter chunks are about the size of a lima bean.
5. Create a well in the center of the flour and pour your cold water into it.
6. Bring your flour towards the center of the well a little bit at a time, until it is completely incorporated.
7. Flatten your dough slightly and wrap it in plastic. Place in the fridge for about 30 minutes to 1 hour, until it is chilled.

Frangipane (Almond Cream)
.5 stick Butter
2 oz Sugar
1.5 oz Almond Flour
1 egg
.5 oz Flour
.5 tsp Vanilla

1. Cream butter, sugar, and almond flour together in a bowl.
2. Add egg and vanilla.
3. Scrape the bowl to make sure that the ingredients are well incorporated.
4. Add flour and mix until incorporated.

Assembly
3 Medium Apples
3 tbsp Sugar
.5 tsp Cinnamon
.25 tsp Nutmeg
.25 tsp Ginger
1 Egg

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Roll the pie dough into a circle, about 1/4 inch thick all the way through. Transfer to a sheet of parchment.
3. Use a spatula or spoon to spread the frangipane in the center, moving outward. Leave about 1.5 inches of space around the edges, so that you can close your pie.
4. Shave your apples using a mandolin. You should cut your apples into quarters, slice out the core, and then shave them carefully with the skin on.
5. Once the apples are shaved, arrange them over the top of the frangipane. I like to start from the center and move outward.
6. Once the apples are arranged, bring up the edges and fold gently to keep the round shape.
7. Gently whisk the egg and use a brush to egg wash the exposed dough.
8. Mix the sugar and spices in a small bowl and sprinkle it over the apples and onto the crust.
9. Bake for about 1.5 hours or until the crust is golden brown.

I like to bake my galette in a cast iron skillet. It heats very well and evenly, and it's just nice and homey. If you don't have a cast iron large enough, you can bake it on a cookie sheet. This tart is beautiful, and tastes as good as it looks! I took it to a potluck, and it was a huge hit!

Dulce de Leche Macarons

Thanksgiving is around the corner!!! Basically a holiday revolving around food- a foodie's favorite ;) You can find a lot of great Thanksgiving recipes here on the blog. I haven't gotten to a turkey yet, but I'm sure you'll find lots of great sides and desserts to feast upon.

It's been a while since I've made a macaron-dedicated post. I actually was supposed to bring these to a church Thanksgiving potluck, but too many of them didn't turn out nice- sometimes my oven gives me a really hard time (ugh). Still, I managed to get at least a couple pretty ones.. I had to share the recipe because the flavor is great!

A lot of my recipes come together when I look through my fridge and find things that I don't know if I would use in my day to day food adventures. This recipe came together when I had some leftover buttercream from Helen's baby shower and sweetened condensed milk. Sweetened condensed milk makes the best dulce de leche. It's not your typical caramel- it's got a much deeper, creamier flavor that kind of makes your heart melt. Not to mention, it's a great "put it in a pot and forget about it" kind of recipe. 

Dulce de Leche Macarons (makes about 30)
Shells
100 g Almond Flour
120 g Confectioner's Sugar
50 g Granulated Sugar
70 g Egg Whites (2 large whites)
Orange, Green, and Red Gel Color

1. Pulse almond flour and powdered sugar in a food processor until very finely ground. Be careful not to grind too long, because it will release all of the oils, ruining your final product.
2. Sift the powder with a medium-mesh sieve.
3. Place the particles that are too large to fit through the sieve back into the food processor, pulse, and sift again. Throw out the excess pieces.
4. In a grease-free bowl, place your egg whites and sugar. Allow to sit for a few minutes to begin to dissolve.
5. Use grease-free beaters on high speed to whip the egg whites to stiff peaks. Add in the gel color. You want a very full color because the added almond flour and sugar will dull the color. You're looking for a light brown/caramel color.
6. Use a rubber spatula to fold the powdered sugar and almond flour into the meringue until the batter moves slowly, like lava. If you run your spatula through it, it should fall together after 5-7 seconds.
7. Put the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a large round tip (3/8 inch). 
8. Pipe rounds that are about an inch apart onto a nonstick baking mat (silpat) that is placed onto a cookie sheet. 
9. Do this by holding the bag straight up about half an inch above the silpat, applying pressure to the bag until about 3/4 inch in diameter, and then lessen the pressure as you drag backward. Once you reach the desired length, quickly move the bag in the opposite direction that you dragged it, to leave a smooth edge. Make sure there is enough space to spread.
10. Rap your cookie sheet/sheet pan on the table a few times to make sure there are no bumps on the macaron shells.
11. Let rest until dry to the touch (about 30-45 minutes, longer on rainy days). Sprinkle a small amount of flake sea salt on the dried shell.
12. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. If you have a convection oven, use convection.
13. Bake macaron shells on the second shelf of the oven for 14-17 minutes, until they do not wiggle when nudged.
14. Remove from oven and allow shells to cool completely before removing from the silpat.

Buttercream Filling
1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 Egg White
1/4 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Butter

1. Carefully place the can of sweetened condensed milk into a pot of gently boiling water- do not remove the condensed milk from the can. You will want to boil the can for about 2.5 hours. Make sure you put the can on its side, and keep adding water to cover the can.
2. Once the time has finished, remove the can from the water with a slotted spoon or tongs, and allow the condensed milk to cool to room temperature. Do not open the can until it is cooled. 
3. Fill a pot with some water and begin to boil.
4. Place the egg white and sugar into a medium sized, heat proof, grease-free bowl. Place the bowl on top of the pot of boiling water.
5. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved (110 degrees F). Check by rubbing the mixture between your fingers to feel for sugar granules.
6. Mix on high speed to make a meringue.
7. When cool to the touch, add softened butter and mix until it comes together.
8. It will break apart and look like scrambled eggs. Continue to mix until it becomes a soft paste.
9. Once the dulce de leche is completely cool, fold about half into the buttercream. You may only need about half of the dulce de leche. Add more dulce de leche if you want more of the flavor.

Assembly
1. Pair the shells by size. You should have about 20 pairs of shells.
2. Put the buttercream into a piping bag with the same tip that you used to pipe the macarons.
3. Pipe the buttercream so that it is covering about 1/2 of the surface of the bottom of the shell.
4. Put the pairs together to create a "sandwich". 
5. Place in the fridge overnight to allow the flavors to develop.

6. Let the macarons come to room temperature before you serve them.

This is a recipe that is sure to impress. the little bit of saltiness adds a perfect depth to the sweet cookie. If you don't have time to make the macarons, you can always use dulce de leche on toast, ice cream, milkshakes, cookies, brownies... really anything that you want to make even more delicious. It's unique, tasty, and simple!

Apple Picking

Fall has come and apple picking season is here! I recently went apple picking and it yielded some delicious results! While I was in Hebron, NH, a group of students and I went to a local apple orchard and picked to our heart's content! Lately, I find that many of my friends from all over the country are utilizing the season to go apple picking. For those of you who have more apples than you can eat, try your hand at some delicious fall desserts. Apple pie is always a favorite when apples are in season. Click here to see my recipe for apple pie :) However, this time I wanted to try something different. I used some traditional fall favors like cinnamon, maple, and apples to create some delicious bread pudding and ice cream!

This isn't your traditional bread pudding and ice cream. The bread pudding has a oatmeal gruyere topping that perfectly accompanies the sweetness of the apples. It's made with Portuguese sweet buns from a local bakery. The ice cream is a maple, bacon, and roasted apple ice cream that is a perfect balance of sweet and savory. The saltiness of the cheese and bacon balances the sweet brown sugar and maple syrup in the bread pudding and ice cream to create a delicious fall dessert.

Cinnamon Apple Bread Pudding
Stale Diced Sweet Bread (Enough to overfill a 9x13in casserole dish)
5 Medium Apples
1/4 tsp Salt
1 pinch Pepper
2 tbsp Maple Syrup
2 tbsp Butter
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1 cup Milk
1 cup Heavy Cream
1 Vanilla Bean
1/4 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
9 Eggs
1 tsp Cinnamon 

1. Peel, core, and medium dice apples.
2. Heat a saute pan and add butter.
3. Once hot, add apples. Season with salt, pepper, and maple syrup.
4. Stir until apples are tender. Remove from heat.
5. In a separate pot, place split vanilla bean, milk, and heavy cream.
6. In a large bowl, mix sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and cinnamon.
7. When the milk boils, pour slowly into the eggs. Whisk constantly.
8. Place apples and bread into the mixture, allow to soak.
9. Place into the greased 9x13in casserole dish.

Oatmeal Gruyere Topping
1/4 cup Oats
1/8 cup Brown Sugar
1 tbsp Butter
3 oz Gruyere Cheese

1. Melt butter.
2. Shred Gruyere. Mix into the oats and sugar.
3. Add butter and mix until incorporated.
4. Generously top the bread pudding.
5. Bake at 350F until set. The bread pudding will souffle (expand slightly), and the topping will be golden.

Maple, Bacon, and Roasted Apple Ice Cream
10 oz Heavy Cream
6 oz Milk
2 oz Sugar
2 oz Maple
4 Yolks
1 Egg
1 Apple
2 slices Bacon
1 tbsp Brown Sugar
1 pinch Salt
1 tsp Maple
1 tbsp Butter
1 pinch Cinnamon

1. Place the ice cream maker bowl into the freezer. Many ice cream makers have a bowl that needs to be in the freezer overnight to ensure proper freezing. Follow the manufacturer's directions for this step.
2. In a pot, heat milk, cream, and sugar.
3. In a bowl, mix maple, egg, and yolk.
4. Once milk mixture boils, pour slowly into egg mixture while mixing constantly.
5. Pour the mixture back into the pot. Turn the heat to low.
6. Mix constantly while touching the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon.
7. When the mixture thickens slightly, pour through a fine sieve into a bowl. This will remove any curdled egg pieces.
8. Cut bacon into small pieces.
9. Peel, core and small dice apple.
10. In a saute pan, cook bacon.
11. Once cooked, add apple. Then add sugar, salt, maple, butter, and cinnamon.
12. Cook until apples are tender.
13. Pour apple and bacon into the ice cream base. Cover with plastic wrap covering the surface.
14. Place into the fridge overnight to allow the flavors develop.
15. Pour the ice cream base through a sieve to keep the bacon and apple out of the ice cream base. This will keep the apple and bacon intact while the ice cream begins to spin.
16. Spin the ice cream according to the manufacturer's directions. When halfway frozen, add the bacon and apples.
17. Remove the ice cream and into an airtight container. The texture will be similar to soft serve. Allow to harden in the freezer before eating.

When serving this dessert, warm the bread pudding in the oven slightly. Serve with cold ice cream on a brisk fall day! Don't forget to share with your friends!

Go out and support your local growers by going apple picking!!! Not only is the produce delicious, but it's organic, tasty, and inexpensive! Take those apples and make something yummy to share.