Local produce

Monday, June 27, 2011

I’m a day later than usual posting my recipe.  June is always busy, but this weekend was especially full.  Friday was my youngest daughter’s graduation from middle school, and I spent Saturday and Sunday at my mom’s place, helping her prepare for a family get-together with our relatives, the Woolners, Keirs and McNerns.

My Woolner relatives live on farms, and I spoke with two of my cousins about their enormous gardens.  Although the gardens are a lot of work, Carol and Ruth Anne are both justifiably proud of the wonderful produce they grow themselves.  As someone who grew up on a farm, I know there's nothing like eating food that you've grown yourself.  We always had the most delicious fresh fruit, with jam and canned and frozen fruit to get us through the winter.  And vegetables too.  Don't even get me dreaming about my mother's asparagus patch.

We didn't have a peach tree, but relied on local orchards for our peaches when I was growing up.  And now that I live in the city, I love visiting the farmers' market for great fruit. When peach season comes along, I'll definitely make these bars again.  I was seduced by the notion of combining browned butter shortbread with the sweetness of peaches, and it proved to be as delicious as I'd imagined.  I was a little short of peaches when I made it, so I covered the remainder of the base with peach jam, and that was terrific too.  I did find the shortbread a little crumbly and would probably use a bit less flour next time.  

Peach Shortbread

1 cup white sugar
1 tsp baking powder
2 3/4 cups plus 2 Tbsp flour (next time I make the recipe, I’ll use a little less)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup cold unsalted butter
1 large egg
2 – 3 peaches, pitted and thinly sliced (between 1/8 and 1/4 inches thick)

Brown your butter:  Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat.  It will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty.  Stir frequently, and as soon as it starts to turn brown remove from heat.  Freeze until solid.  (For me, this took about an hour.)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Butter a 9 x 13 inch pan or line it with parchment paper.  In a medium bowl, stir together sugar, baking powder, flour, salt and cinnamon with a whisk.  Use a pastry blender, fork or your fingertips to blend the solidified brown butter and egg into the flour mixture.  Pat 3/4 of the crumbs into the bottom of the prepared pan, pressing firmly.  Arrange the peach slices in tiles over the crumb base in a single layer.  Scatter remaining crumbs evenly over peaches and bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, until top is slightly brown.  Cool completely in pan before cutting into squares.


39 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey now, I'm all for peach desserts of any kind. I'll have two, please. ANd a scoop of real vanilla bean ice cream too!

Heather said...

Mmmm...fresh summer fruit is the best. I love peach cobbler with a scoop of vanilla icecream! :)

Belinda said...

Congrats! Looks like such a lovely summer treat.

Carol said...

Peaches and shortbread, lovely together! What a delicious treat.

Ruth said...

This looks delicious - I am an avid reader of Smitten Kitchen. I agree with Heather too - a large scoop of vanilla ice cream would make this sing!

Jess said...

I haven't eaten yet this morning, and today's picture looks absolutely mouthwatering! I love peaches :)

Rita said...

Hope you enjoy the family gathering. I am always attracted to a peachy desserts; this one looks really good.
Rita

Barbara said...

Beautiful, Beth. I made them too and added a bit of nutmeg. Adding peach jam was an inspiration!
Congrats to your graduate!

GratefulPrayerThankfulHeart said...

Peaches make any dessert better. This shortbread looks so good!

Unknown said...

browned butter, peaches, shortbread...oh dear - pass me one will yah.

Liz That Skinny Chick Can Bake said...

OH, wow...these sound amazing!! I can't wait till the peaches start showing up at our produce stand...these will definitely be on my baking list!

Anonymous said...

June is a busy month for my family as well!
Once again.. another great recipe! Yum :)

Sue said...

This recipe sounds fabulous! Homegrown fruit is so much better than the grocery store variety!

Anonymous said...

I love love love shortbread! Fresh fruit is so delicious that I struggle with eating it vs. baking with it. Not that you can go wrong either way!

Aldy said...

Your peach shortbread looks absolutely mouth-watering! Lovely combination, Beth.

Have a wonderful week!

Aldy.

laxsupermom said...

Yum! This looks so good - I can almost smell it through the screen. Love peaches! Thanks for sharing.

Reeni said...

Growing your own produce gives you a special satisfaction! I have a tiny garden and it makes me immensely happy. The shortbread looks scrumptious with fresh peaches!

Valerie Gamine said...

A fellow asparagus lover! :-)
I also love the idea of combining brown butter with peaches, these look amazing!

Anonymous said...

I am practically counting the days for peaches to be in season. I am usually a cobbler or pie kind of girl, but I am very intrigued by browned butter shortbread.

Congratulations to your middle school graduate!

Joanne said...

I can only imagine what it must have been like to be surrounded by all that fresh produce! Amazing.

And these bars look so delicious! I can't wait until peaches come into season!

Emily Malloy said...

Nothing like fresh produce in the summer!

Jeanne said...

Brown butter ANYTHING is delicious! Great idea to use browned butter shortbread with peaches, I can almost taste these bars through the screen!

shaz said...

I so wish I had a large garden! Or a peach tree. Or both. Never mind, at least I can have shortbread bars, they look delish. Bet they'd work with mango too.

Sweet And Crumby said...

These sound and look just divine. My daughter would LOVE the peaches inside these beauties...perfect for summer.

Anonymous said...

I don't eat enough peaches--I always think of strawberries when I pick fruity desserts--and this looks lovely.

Victoria said...

Peach season is my favorite season!! Love this shortbread :)

tinajo said...

I agree - it´s busy times right now but I love it! :-)

This looks yummy indeed, thanks for posting! :-)

Gloria Baker said...

Love peaches look delicious! gloria

MTeacress said...

I've not been by for a while, so I've enjoyed browsing through your recent pictures and recipes. Peach shortbread...MM.MM.

Have a lovely week. :)

Anonymous said...

I DEFINITELY love this idea. Once peaches ripen, you can't find me without one, so this would be another wonderful way to re-incarnate them.

Angie's Recipes said...

Those shortbread squares look amazing! My husband will definitely love them.

Golden Eagle said...

Mmmm, peach shortbread! :) That sounds really good.

Unknown said...

I am bookmarking these yummy peach shortbreads, this is such a wonderful combination. The peaches are perfect right now and I can't get enough of them!
Have a lovely holiday weekend Beth;-)

Shirley said...

I've been admiring all the fruit bars out there on blogs, but I love peaches! Sounds wonderful.

Amie Kaufman said...

Oh wow, delicious! I've just flown back to Melbourne winter, and there's nothing I miss so much in cold weather as peaches and stone fruit!

(I see you blogged health food while I was gone. Is the end of the world nigh? It does look delicious, though!)

Lorraine said...

I agree; there is nothing like the feeling of growing something delicious and enjoying it with your family:) This recipe sounds wonderful. I have it bookmarked. Can't wait for peach season now.

Monet said...

We've been busy too...but I'm glad that you found time to share this delicious treat. I just bought 2 lbs of peaches today :-) Thanks for sharing, sweet friend. I hope you are having a wonderful weekend, and I wish you a very happy 4th!

Ruth said...

Mouthwatering recipe. I will try this one when peaches come back! I was just reading about local produce and am trying to purchase Ontario crops myself this year...

Anonymous said...

mmm This looks good. I made a peach & apricot cobbler last week and it was stellar, but it was a little too tangy for my tastes. I can't wait to try this recipe.

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