Peaches & Cream Scones

Peaches are a Southern staple; pies, cobblers, jam, and today, Scones.  I look forward to when I see the farm stands announcing that peaches are in, which happened a few weeks ago.  I've already done 14 jars of jam, but will certainly make more.

Today, I decided to make some scones for a breakfast treat, but really any time of the day a scone tastes delicious.  I knew that fresh fruit isn't always the first choice when making scones; it makes the dough too wet, so I decided to use dried peaches which I found at Nuts.com.

To soften the peaches, I warmed the Half-&-Half and poured it over the diced peaches to soften just slightly.  After exercising for 35 minutes, they were perfect to start the dough. In the KitchenAid mixer, the scones come together quickly and in less than 25 minutes, we had warm scones to start the day.

Peaches & Cream Scones
1 cup dried diced peaches
1/2 cup Half-&-Half, warmed until bubbles appear around the edges

Pour the cream over the diced peaches and allow to rest for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400F-degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

2 1/2 cups King Arthur all-purpose flour
2 T firmly packed light brown sugar
2 T granulated sugar
1 T baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" pieces
1/3 cup honey
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract
dried Peach/cream mixture

In a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, mix the dry ingredients together.  Add the 1/2" pieces of butter, while the mixer is running, a few at a time.  When the mixture resembles coarse sand, add the honey, egg, and extracts.  Mix on low just until the dough comes together.  Use your hands to knead a bit and place on a lightly flour board.

Roll dough to 1" thick.  Cut into 8 pie-shaped pieces and place on the parchment-lined baking sheet.

 Mix 1 large egg + 1 tsp. Half-&-Half and brush on the tops of the scones.  I also take a toothpick and poke a few holes in the surface of the scone to achieve an even bake.

Bake for 14-17 minutes or until golden brown.

Optional Glaze:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 T Light Karo syrup
1- 1/2 T very warm water

Drizzle glaze over the warm scones and serve with butter and Peach Jam.  Enjoy!

Peachy Keen Cookies with Streusel Topping

I love turning one dessert into another; this is an example of one of my favorites--Peach Pie and now it's a cookie!  I think this would be perfect for all the picnics coming up this summer.

I had Peach Jam that I preserved from last year from South Carolina peaches and it's soooo good, but I can imagine this with Strawberry, Raspberry or Blueberry.

Peachy Keen Cookies
3/4 cup (12 T) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 cup Almond Flour
2 cups King Arthur all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup Peach jam (preferably homemade:-D)

Streusel Topping
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 T King Arthur all-purpose flour
2 T unsalted butter
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. salt

Mix the sugar, flour, salt and cinnamon together.  Use a pastry cutter to cut in the butter to form the streusel.

Egg wash: 1 large egg + 1T water

In a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together.  Add the egg and beat to combine.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.  Add the extracts and beat to combine.  Add the flours and salt and mix just until the dough comes together.

I use a plastic pie crust bag and put the dough in there.  I rolled it to 1/4-inch thick.

If you don't have this, form the dough into a disc and chill at least 1 hour.  Then, you will have to roll out the dough on a lightly flour board.

Preheat oven 375F-degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment.  Use a 3-inch round cutter and cut out the cookies.  Place the cookie rounds on the parchment-lined sheet, leaving about 2 inches in between.

Place about 1 tablespoon jam in the center of the cookie round.

With the scrape dough, roll out and use a crimping wheel to cut strips.  Create a "lattice" across the rounds.

Brush the top with the egg wash and sprinkle with the streusel topping.

Bake in the preheated for 13 minutes...until golden brown.  Remove from the oven and transfer to a rack to cool.  As a final touch, dust with confectioners' sugar.  Enjoy!