Peach Season: These recipes are not the pits.
It’s officially peach season when you find your first basket of Chilton County peaches at Birmingham Farmers' markets. Peach season and extreme humidity usually arrive around the same time here in Alabama. I picked up a basket of peaches last weekend, so I decided to develop several recipes that involve the famous fuzzy fruit. Juicy peaches are delicious on their own, AND they are a baker-friendly fruit that tastes so delicious in a pie or a cake or a cobbler… I could go on and on.
I decided to develop the following recipes this week: homemade peach pie filling, peach hand pies with a cinnamon glaze, and a homemade peach ice cream-YUM!! Before you make the peach hand pies or homemade peach ice cream, you will need to make my homemade peach pie filling. No time to make homemade peach pie filling, canned peach pie filling will work just fine too for my pie and ice cream recipes. The recipe for the homemade filling makes a LOT, which can easily be refrigerated and used for up to two weeks in multiple recipes.
Homemade Peach Pie Filling
For the peach pie filling you will need the following ingredients:
5 large peaches (peeled and chopped)
¾ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup corn starch
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup of water
1 tsp of vanilla extract
Peel your peaches, remove the pit, and chop your peaches into small pieces (think bite-size). Place the chopped peaches in a bowl, and set them aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk together your granulated sugar, brown sugar, corn starch, and cinnamon until fully combined, set aside.
Pour your water and lemon juice in a cast iron skillet (always my vessel of choice if it’s recipe friendly), or a sauce pan. Slowly whisk your dry ingredients into your wet ingredients. Turn your oven eye to medium-high heat, stirring your ingredients occasionally. Carefully watch your ingredients (this is not a recipe you want to walk away from). Once your filling starts to bubble and comes to a light boil, stir your ingredients until they start to thicken, usually about 2-3 minutes. Once your filling has thickened, remove your skillet or saucepan from the heat and stir in your vanilla. Gently fold in your chopped peaches, and allow this filling to cool to room temp. It can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Peach Hand Pies with Cinnamon Glaze
Have you ever made hand pies? I enjoyed creating a recipe for peach hand pies with a cinnamon glaze. If you know me or you’ve checked out some of my other recipes, you probably guessed that I will be using store-bought refrigerated pie crusts for these scrumptious hand-held pies. I’m using my homemade peach pie filling, but store-bought canned filling would work well too. Here are the ingredients you need to make peach hand pies:
1 package of refrigerated pie crusts (two come in a pack)
Peach pie filling (canned or homemade)
*OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS
1 egg
1 tbsp of water
turbinado sugar
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, then start by unrolling the pie crust (one at a time) onto a piece of wax or parchment paper. Using a 4 in. round cookie cutter, cut 4 circles out of the first pie crust, setting the scraps of pie crust to the side. Unroll the second pie crust and cut out four more circles. Roll the pie crust scraps into a ball, then roll the crust back out using a rolling pin. I was able to cut 3 additional circles out of the dough scraps. A box of store-bought refrigerated pie crusts yields 11 total 4 in. circle cutouts of pie crust. *A set of circle shaped cutters are a great tool to keep in your kitchen, perfect for cutting pie crusts, biscuits, cookies, and more!
Now that your hand pie crusts are cutout, drop 1 tbsp (not a heaping tbsp) of peach pie filling into the center of a pie crust circle cutout. Then, fold the circle of dough in half (like a taco) over the filling. From there, pinch the edges of the crust together with your fingers before finally using the tip of a fork to crimp the dough and thoroughly seal it around the edges. Place your hand pie on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat this process, one hand pie at a time, until all your pies are prepared and placed on the baking sheet. Using a fork, pierce the top of each pie to create a vent.
An optional, but not necessary, step before placing the pies in the oven is to combine 1 egg and 1 tablespoon of water in a bowl to create an egg wash. Brush the tops of each hand pie with the egg wash and sprinkle with turbinado sugar before baking. This step will allow your pies to turn a pretty golden color.
Place your baking sheet of pies in the oven and bake for 22-25 minutes at 375 degrees, or until your pies turn a golden color.
While the peach hand pies are baking, prepare the cinnamon glaze. It’s, oh so easy, to throw together, and is the icing on the pie that adds a sweet pop of flavor! To make the glaze, you will need the following ingredients:
2.5 cups of confectioner sugar
1 tsp of cinnamon
½ tsp of vanilla extract
3-4 tbsp of whole milk
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk together until a smooth glaze forms.
Allow the pies to cool for at least 30 minutes before spreading the glaze over the top.
Homemade Peach Ice Cream
If you live in the south, the thought of homemade peach ice cream probably brings back happy memories of family and friends gathering in the summertime. I’ve certainly had my fair share of this tasty ice cream in my lifetime (usually in Styrofoam cup with a plastic spoon). Maybe my recipe should be called peach pie ice cream because the homemade peach pie filling is what infuses all the flavor into this ice cream. I’ll be using my Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker to make this delightful dessert. If you’re not using a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker, just adjust your ice cream churning time required for your ice cream maker.
You will need the following ingredients to make homemade peach ice cream:
1.5 cups of heavy whipping cream
1 cup of whole milk
¾ cup of granulated sugar
1 tsp of vanilla
Pinch of kosher salt
1 cup of peach pie filling (homemade or canned)
In a large bowl, whisk together your heavy whipping cream, whole milk, granulated sugar, vanilla, and kosher salt on low speed for about 2 minutes until the sugar is dissolved. This can be done with a hand mixer or in the bowl of stand mixer with a whisk attachment.
Fit the freezer bowl of your Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker to the base of your ice cream maker. Insert the ice cream paddle and cover. Turn your ice cream maker on and pour your ice cream mix into the freezer bowl. After you pour your mix into the ice cream maker, gently pour in 1 cup of peach pie filling into the ice cream maker.
Allow your ice cream to churn until thickened, about 20-25 minutes. You can serve the ice cream immediately after churning if you like a soft serve texture. For a firmer consistency, transfer your ice cream from the freezer bowl into an air tight container and place in freezer for 4 hours.
Peaches are sweet in every sense of the word and somewhat nostalgic for me. One of my favorite childhood memories was going peach picking with my grandparents in Chilton Co. Each of us grandkids got to pick a basket of peaches. I fondly remember how much fun we had that day. I’m not sure what we did with all those peaches. I’m sure we took a lot home, and I’m sure my grandmother used her basket of peaches to make pickled peaches, homemade peach ice cream, and peach jelly. I’m also sure Charlie Mae (my grandmother) was the best baker/cook in the whole world, to know her was to love her.
I hope you’ll enjoy making these peachy recipes with your summer haul of peaches from the farmer’s market, or better yet, a u-pick farm if you have the time!
-XOXO-
Sally
Homemade Peach Pie Filling
5 large peaches (peeled and chopped)
¾ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup corn starch
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup of water
1 tsp of vanilla extract
Peel your peaches, remove the pit, and chop your peaches into small pieces (think bite-size). Place the chopped peaches in a bowl, and set them aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk together your granulated sugar, brown sugar, corn starch, and cinnamon until fully combined, set aside.
Pour your water and lemon juice in a cast iron skillet (always my vessel of choice if it’s recipe friendly), or a sauce pan. Slowly whisk in your dry ingredients into your wet ingredients. Turn your oven eye to medium-high heat, stirring your ingredients occasionally. Carefully watch your ingredients (this is not a recipe you want to walk away from). Once your filling starts to bubble and comes to a light boil, stir your ingredients until they start to thicken, usually about 2-3 minutes. Once your filling has thickened, remove your skillet or saucepan from the heat and stir in your vanilla. Gently fold in your chopped peaches, and allow this filling to cool to room temp. in your skillet or saucepan. It can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Peach Hand Pies With Cinnamon Glaze
Peach Hand Pies
1 package of refrigerated pie crusts (two come in a pack)
Peach pie filling (canned or homemade)
*OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS
1 egg
1 tbsp of water
turbinado sugar
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, then start by unrolling the pie crust (one at a time) onto a piece of wax paper. Using a 4 in round cookie cutter, cut 4 circles out of the first pie crust, setting the scraps of pie crust to the side. Unroll the second pie crust and cut out four more circles. Roll the pie crust scraps into a ball, then roll the crust back out using a rolling pin. I was able to cut 3 additional 4 in circles out of the dough scraps. A box of store-bought refrigerated pie crusts yields 11 total circle cutouts of pie crust.
Now that your hand pie crusts are cutout, drop 1 tbsp (not a heaping tbsp) of peach pie filling into the center of a pie crust circle cutout. Then, fold the circle of dough in half (like a taco) over the filling. From there, pinch the edges of the crust together with your fingers before finally using the tip of a fork to crimp the dough and thoroughly seal it around the edges. Place your hand pie on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat this process, one hand pie at a time, until all your pies are prepared and placed on the baking sheet. Using a fork, pierce the top of each pie to create a vent.
An optional, but not necessary, step before placing the pies in the oven is to combine 1 egg and 1 tablespoon of water in a bowl to create an egg wash. Brush the tops of each hand pie with the egg wash and sprinkle with turbinado sugar before baking. This step will allow your pies to turn a pretty golden color.
Place your baking sheet of pies in the oven and bake for 22-25 minutes at 375 degrees, or until your pies turn a golden color. While the pies are baking, prepare your cinnamon glaze.
Cinnamon Glaze
2.5 cups of confectioner sugar
1 tsp of cinnamon
½ tsp of vanilla extract
3-4 tbsp of whole milk
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk together until a smooth glaze forms.
Allow the pies to cool for at least 30 minutes before spreading the glaze over the tops of the hand pies.
Homemade Peach Ice Cream
1.5 cups of heavy whipping cream
1 cup of whole milk
¾ cup of granulated sugar
1 tsp of vanilla
Pinch of kosher salt
1 cup of peach pie filling (homemade or canned)
In a large bowl, whisk together your heavy whipping cream, whole milk, granulated sugar, vanilla, and kosher salt on low speed for about 2 minutes until the sugar is dissolved. This can be done with a hand mixer or in the bowl of stand mixer with a whisk attachment.
Fit the freezer bowl of your Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker to the base of your ice cream make. Insert the ice cream paddle and cover. Turn your ice cream maker on and pour your ice cream mix into the freezer bowl. After you pour your mix into the ice cream maker, gently pour in 1 cup of peach pie filling into the ice cream maker.
Allow your ice cream to churn until thickened, about 20-25 minutes. If you aren't using a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker, adjust your churn time to fit your make.The ice cream will be a soft serve ice cream texture after the churning process and can be served immediately after it churns. For a firmer consistency, transfer your ice cream from the freezer bowl into an air tight container and place in freezer for 4 hours.