Everything Peach!

Summer in the South means PEACHES! I adore this fruit, and it is in abundance right now, which means I have been very busy making yummy gluten free peach confections for weeks. Peach pie is my favorite. I was a little skeptical that a "gluten free" peach pie would be just as pleasurable as a traditional one, but I was very pleasantly surprised! While at Whole Foods, I stumbled upon a pre-made frozen gluten free pie crust...I was thrilled! This worked so well! The only issue I had was that there was no dough provided for a top crust, but I worked that out by creating a "cobbler" type topping and it came out beautifully. My sister-in-law Samantha made a gluten-free apple crunch recently using Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten Free flour. It was so good! I decided to test it out for this recipe. I combined the gluten free flour with brown sugar and butter (and a dash of salt) and put it on top of my peach filled pie. Worked like a charm! For the filling, I simply peeled and chopped about 7 peaches, added sugar, a drop of lemon juice, and tapioca. After filling the pie shell with the peaches, I placed pats of butter on top and then the cobbler mixture over the butter.  I baked it in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes. The smell was fantastic! After this pie came out of the oven there was no telling any difference. If you cannot find a gluten free pre-made pie crust, I would suggest making your own by using an all-purpose gluten free flour as a substitute for regular in your traditional pie recipe.

To make the most out of every peach, I took the advice of a good friend, Cherrie, and made Peach Jam out of the scraps left behind from peach pie making and peach freezing. I boiled the little pieces of peach that surround the pits, adding water, pectin, sugar and lemon juice and made a fabulous refrigerator jam that works so nicely on toast, pancakes, cottage cheese, anything! Very easy to do- simply purchase Sure Gel or Ball Fruit Pectin and follow the directions on the box.

For another great peach recipe idea, look in my previous posts for Grilled Peach dessert! It is sooo good!