PEACH RECIPES
Peach Crumble Bars
CRUST
1 egg
1 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. sugar
2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
FILLING
4 peaches, peeled, pitted and chopped
4 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/2 c. brown sugar
TOPPING
2/3 c. brown sugar
2/3 c. flour
4 Tbsp. butter, melted
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper and set aside.
CRUST
In a large bowl, combine the egg, butter, and sugar. Mix until creamy. Add flour and salt; stir until combined. Using your fingers (flour them, if needed), press the dough evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.
FILLING
In a large bowl, combine peaches, butter and brown sugar. Stir until combined. Pour evenly over crust.
TOPPING
In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour and butter. Stir until mixture is crumbly. Spread evenly over filling layer. Bake for an additional 30 minutes.
Let cool and cut into squares.
Peach Cobbler
2 Tbsp, sugar
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
3 c. fresh peaches (skins removes, sliced)
Topping:
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 & 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. butter, softened
Combine sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, peaches in a 2-quart baking dish.
For the topping, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
Work in the butter with a pastry knife until mixture has a small-grained texture. Stir in milk and combine gently until no dry flour is showing.
Spread over fruit mixture and bake at 375 degrees for 50 minutes or until golden brown.
Blackberry-Peach Crisp
4 peeled ripe peaches, sliced
1-1/2 c. fresh blackberries
2 Tbsp. flour or Clear-Jel pie thickener
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground ginger
TOPPING
6 Tbsp. flour
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. chopped pecans
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
4 Tbsp. cold butter (if using unsalted, also add a pinch of salt)
Coarse sugar, optional
Vanilla ice cream
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Combine peaches and blackberries in a bowl. Add in flour (or Clear-Jel), sugar, cinnamon, and ginger; toss gently to combine. Pour fruit mixture into a 9x9-inch square baking dish.
In a separate bowl for topping, combine flour, sugar, brown sugar, nuts, and cinnamon. Slice in butter and use a pastry knife or clean hands to break up pieces of butter in the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs with some small pepples. Sprinkle over the top of the fruit mixture.
Bake for 35-45 minutes or until the topping is browned and crisp. Cool for at least 10 minutes before serving with ice cream, if desired.
How to Can Peaches
**You should be able to fit about 4 to 5 peaches per quart size canning jar, depending on the size of your peaches. Peaches should be ripe, but not over-ripe and bruised.
1. Sterilize your wide-mouth canning jars in the dishwasher before beginning your peaches. Wash off your peaches and set aside.
2. Bring a large pot of water (half full) to a boil. Then set up a large bowl of ice water near your boiling water pot. Immerse a few peaches in your boiling water for 30 seconds. Quickly remove them with a large, slotted serving spoon. Immediately tranfer peaches and immerse into your bowl of ice water to quickly cool them. Leave peaches in the cool water for about 1 minute. Remove peaches and set aside on the counter top.
3. Prepare the syrup for bottling your peaches. You can choose from three different consistencies: light, medium or heavy syrup.
light: 1 and 2/3 cup sugar to 4 cups of water
medium: 2 and 2/3 cup sugar to 4 cups of water
heavy: 4 cups sugar to 4 cups of water
Mix together your water and sugar in a pot on the stove and bring to a boil over medium heat.
4. Peel, halve and pit peaches that have been plunged into the boiling and ice baths. Soak the halved peaches in an ascorbic acid solution. To make the ascorbic acid solution you need to mix 8 cups of water with 3 Tablespoon of Fruit Fresh or Citric Acid. Fruit fresh can be found near the canning supplies in most grocery stores.
5. Let the peaches soak fully immersed for a few minutes in your ascorbic acid solution. The ascorbic acid solution will prevent your peaches from turning brown.
6. Fill each jar by placing the cut sides of the peaches down and towards the middle of the jars. Fill the jar with as many peach halves as possible, but be careful not to squish them.
7. Fill the jar with your prepared syrup. Carefully stick a butter knife into the sides of the jar to remove excess air bubbles. Leave a 1/2 inch headspace at the top of the jar.
8. Place lids and rings on your jars and place filled jars into a boiling water bath. Make sure that the water covers the tops of the jars when the rack is lowered into the pot. Boil and process for 25 minutes for quart size jars or 20 minutes if you are using pint sized jars.
9. After 25 minutes remove jars from boiling bath and set on a towel to cool. Do not move until the jars have sealed. You should hear a light popping sound as the lid seals. If a jar does not seal (you can tell by pushing on the lid), you can reprocess the jar, or just put it in your fridge and eat within a few days.
Peach Salsa
Yields about 4 pints.
7 cups (ripe, but not over-ripe) peaches, peeled, diced and set in a colander to drain a bit (save the juice for your mint tea)
1 1/4 cup red onion, diced
4 jalapeno peppers, diced (with seeds removed)
1 red bell pepper
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, loosely packed and chopped
1/2 cup white vinegar
2 tbsp. honey
2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. cayenne
Chop and prepare all the ingredients. Combine them in a large cooking pot- set aside. Bring your canner to a boil. Get your hot, sterilized jars and lids close to ready. Bring the salsa to a boil, then turn the heat back and let it simmer for 3-5 minutes- no longer. Set your hot jars out now. Transfer salsa to hot jars, lid and ring. Process in a (boiling) hot water bath for 10 minutes only. Cooking it longer (either in the pot or in the canner) will lead to a mushier (but still very yummy) salsa.
PEAR RECIPES
Slow-Cooker Spiced Pear Butter
12 medium pears (or more, if small), peeled, cored, & chunked1 1/2 cups brown sugar
(1/4 c. apple juice IF using store-bought pears rather than Palisade pears)
2 whole cinnamon sticks
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cardamom
Toss the chopped pears in the slow cooker. Then pour in the apple juice (only IF using store-bought pears). Dump in the brown sugar and the ground spices and then stir to mix. Add your cinnamon sticks to the mixture.
Turn your slow cooker on LOW and cook for 6-8 hours. Every hour or so, stir the mixture to make sure the cinnamon is getting mixed in well. Then, remove the cinnamon sticks.
Use a slotted ladle to take out about half of the cooked pears to a blender. (Please make sure to let the pears cool slightly in the blender BEFORE placing the lid on and blending. The heat from the pears will cause the lid of the blender to get vacuum sealed on if you try to blend them before they have cooled somewhat.)
Blend until smooth. Mix back into the slow cooker with the remaining cooked down pears and spices. If you prefer a completely smooth pear butter, puree it all in batches in a blender or food processor.
You can choose to can your spiced pear butter in jars (hot water bath process); refrigerate and use within 2-3 weeks, or freeze in 1-pint plastic freezer containers (leaving 1/2-inch head space).
Pear Crumble Bars
CRUST
1 egg
1 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. sugar
2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
FILLING
4 pears, peeled, pitted and chopped
4 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/2 c. brown sugar
TOPPING
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 c. flour
1/4 c. butter, melted
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper and set aside.
CRUST
In a large bowl, combine the egg, butter, and sugar. Mix until creamy. Add flour and salt; stir until combined. Using your fingers (flour them, if needed), press the dough evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.
FILLING
In a large bowl, combine pears, butter, and brown sugar. Stir until combined. Pour evenly over crust.
TOPPING
In a small bowl, combine the cheese, flour, melted butter, sugar and salt. Stir until mixture is crumbly. Spread evenly over filling layer. Bake for an additional 30 minutes.
Let cool and cut into squares.
APPLE RECIPES
All-Day Apple Butter5 1/2 pounds apples - peeled, cored
Juice of 1 large lemon
2 cups brown sugar (do less, if you prefer)
1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
Chop prepared apples into small pieces using a food processor.
Place apples in a large slow cooker. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Combine sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and salt; pour over apples and mix well. Cover and cook on HIGH for 1 hour.
Stir and return the lid to cover. Reduce heat to LOW. Cook for 9-11 hours or until thickened and dark brown, stirring occasionally (stir more frequently as it thickens to prevent sticking).
UNCOVER and cook on LOW for 1 hour longer.
Stir with a wire whisk. If desired, use a food processor to blend the apple mixture until smooth. Spoon into five 1-pint freezer containers, leaving 1/2-in. headspace. Cover and refrigerate or freeze.
Apple Pie Breakfast Cake
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
4 tsp. vanilla extract
2/3 cup Greek style plain yogurt
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
Pinch (or 1/8 tsp.) of each: nutmeg, ground cardamom, ground ginger
2 apples (medium, peeled and diced into cubes)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add egg and mix until well combined. Add in vanilla and yogurt and stir. Mix dry ingredients together and add to batter, only mixing until just combined. Fold in apple chunks.
Spray 8" square baking dish with non-stick spray. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.
OPTIONAL TOPPINGS:
Brown Sugar Topping
For the brown sugar topping, combine 1/2 tablespoon flour, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, a pinch of salt and 2 teaspoons of melted butter. Crumble it over top before baking.
Glaze
For an optional glaze on top, combine 3-4 tablespoons of powdered sugar and a drop or two of milk (literally a drop) and whisk until glaze forms.
Apple Cake
6 Tbsp butter, softened
2 c. sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 c. + 2 Tbsp flour
1-1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
4 medium tart apples, peeled and grated
1 c. chopped walnuts
BUTTER SAUCE:
1 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1 c. packed brown sugar
1 c. half-and-half cream
In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Stir in apples and walnuts. Pour into a greased 9x13x2-inch glass baking dish. Bake at 375 degrees for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
Meanwhile, in a saucepan, melt butter. Stir in sugars and cream. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve over warm cake.
