Life
The peaches this year are some of the best I've ever had. That means I've been buying them by the truckload, ready to eat them raw, chopped into salads, and of course, baked. To that end, I've found some easy peach recipes that will absolutely blow your mind. These really are simple and delicious (and one or two might be of the adult variety for extra fun), so if you have a basket of them in your kitchen, get ready.
Peaches are such a versatile fruit. They can be used in both savory and sweet preparations given the right ingredients, they work wonderfully with meat and with fish, and of course, with sugar and butter. You don't need the perfect, unblemished peaches to use in your recipes, either. If they get a little banged up, they'll be fine. They're not like an apple or a pear where you're depending upon their firm texture. Peaches are soft to begin with and only get softer as they cook or macerate in alcohol. They are perfectly low maintenance fruits that don't require much handling or peeling to be ready. A quick chop is truly all you need to to do before you prepare them.
These recipes run the gamut as far as flavor profiles go, but the one thing they all have in common is that they are dead simple to put together.
1.Peach Crumb Bars
These are the simplest. These peach crumb bars from Brown Eyed Baker are basically a step up from a dump cake, but they really bring a ton of flavor to the table. Add vanilla ice cream, and you have heaven in a bowl. (OK, peaches and vanilla ice cream are always welcome on my table.)
Peach Galette
If you love everything about homemade peach pie except the fussy nightmare of making pie crust from scratch, consider this peach galette from Simply Lakita. It might look like a rustic baking masterpiece, but basically all you need to do is slice up some peaches and toss them with sugar and spices (use store-bought pie crust to make this recipe even easier).
Peach Cobbler Muffins
This recipe for peach cobbler muffins from Confessions of a Cookbook Queen is perfect to make with your kids. Plus, you can trick yourself into thinking they're healthy because they're muffins and not cupcakes. The crumb topping is to die for, and the moist muffin? I'm in love.
Skillet Balsamic Peach Pork Chops
I've made this recipe for skillet balsamic peach pork chops from Half Baked Harvest roughly 1000000 times since she first posted it a few years ago, and my husband does the "happy eating" noises every time. It comes together in a minute, and it's perfect for your badly beaten peaches that you somehow forgot were in your fridge for the past week.
Peach Pizza
This recipe for peach, prosciutto, and goat cheese pizza from Epicurious was made to be altered. Use store-bought crust. Switch out the fancy ham for bacon or leftover honey baked, nix the goat cheese and go for ricotta, or heck, even mozzarella. Top it with arugula. Add cherries, or rotisserie chicken. The pizza is your oyster, and the peaches are your pearls.
Slushies
This slushy from Brown Eyed Baker combines my two favorite summer fruits: watermelon and peaches. I never thought to blend them together, and for that, I am so ashamed. Also, I am adding tequila to mine, and no one can tell me this isn't a great idea. It's the best idea I've had all week.
Whole Grain Peach Buckle
This recipe for whole grain peach buckle from Hummingbird High has a deceptively large amount of ingredients, but seriously, it is as basic as it gets. If you're not into whole grain, you could definitely sub out all-purpose flour or even a combination of pastry and bread flour. Whatever you have.
Peach Coffee Cake
This recipe for peach and blackberry coffee cake from Inside BruCrew Life is both easy and delicious. I can picture myself eating this for breakfast, or as an afternoon snack. Also for lunch, dessert, or a side dish at dinner. I'm basically just going to eat the heck out of this until the whole thing is gone.
Peach Sangria
Tori Avey has the right idea with her recipe for peach sangria. It's got wine, schnapps, and peaches. What else could you possibly want? Oh yes, a night without children, or at least a night where they're not screaming at each other about what to play on their Xbox or tablet.
Cobbler, Duh
OK, this is a really good recipe for cobbler, but I omit the extra sugar in the peach mixture, because I don't like that extra sweetness. No one notices. Peaches are sweet enough. However, I don't omit even a tiny bit of butter because, well, because it's butter and it's good.
