little peach pies with honey and thyme

Oh, the sweetness of peach season! There really is nothing like a warm from the sun, fully ripe peach - even if I have to steady myself dealing with the peach fuzz. Still, a few shivers as I peel the fragrant peaches is certainly worth the slight discomfort with peach fuzz.

I love to make diminutive desserts, but since I couldn't find my little pie tins ( gone, no doubt, after an abundant family gathering and the leftovers line) I used the traditional white ramekins with just a little disc of pastry on the top, sprinkled with sugar and fresh thyme leaves. To the juicy bowl of cut up peaches, I added tiny pinches of cinnamon, thyme leaves, and pepper with spoonfuls of honey . The bubbling juices and meltingly warm peaches made a wonderful brunch dessert.

I had some leftover pastry dough in the freezer, so I used that, but here is the recipe if your freezer is bare:

2 cups King Arthur flour

1/2 t. kosher salt

1 T. sugar

2 sticks ( 16 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut in pieces

1/3 to 1/2 cup ice water

Place the flour, salt and sugar in food processor bowl using the steel blade. Pulse a few times. Add butter and brocess until the butter is well incorporated. With the motor running, drizzle the ice water into the dough until it forms a soft ball.

Remove, briefly knead, and pat into a rectangle. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least an hour before using.

The peaches:

You can either use an oven , or, since I was only making tiny pies, I used the toaster oven.

Set oven to 350F.

Each ramekin took two peaches, cut up, to fill, for a total of six peaches.

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6 medium peaches, peeled and cut up

6 tablespoons of good honey

1/2 t. kosher salt

1/4 t. cinnamon

1 t. fresh thyme leaves, stripped from stem plus more for top

a few grindings of fresh pepper

Toss and scoop the peaches into the ramekins.

Roll out the dough and use a large glass or cookie cutter to cut out discs of dough.

Place dough discs on top of peaches, sprinkle with sugar and thyme leaves. Cut a few slits in the top of the dough to let the steam out.

Bake at 350F for about 30 minutes, or until top is browned and juices bubbling.

Let cool before serving!

Enjoy - and Happy August!

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What I'm reading:

Nine Lives: Mystery, Magic, Death and Life in New Orleans by Dan Baum

blueberry pie with vegetable oil crust

I am so pleased to see the blueberry season in full swing here - there is simply nothing like picking, cooking, and freezing heaps and heaps of blueberries for the winter. Yesterday, I was intrigued to read an article in The Boston Globe comparing five different pie crusts ( lard, butter. butter and shortening, shortening, and vegetable oil) with the firm decision that the oil crust outranked the butter crust! Does anything get a cook going than questioning die hard pie making? I didn't think so either.

So I tried it. I tossed the blueberries with sugar, flour, lemon, and cinnamon, made the crust, and divided the berries between a smallish pie and a few ramekins topped with a sugared disc of crust. I'm just not much of a pie crust on the bottom person, preferring the almost-cobbler method of biscuit or pastry on top of fruit. I do have to say the vegetable oil crust is a breeze, and it stays nice and flakey. I'm sure you will make a tidier pie than I did, but I was feeling rustic today:)

How to make:

Preheat oven to 400F.

The crust:

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup milk

2 cups King Arthur flour

1/2 t. salt

Mix together well and squish with your hands to make a ball of dough.

Lay out wax paper on a wet counter, and roll the dough as wished.

The filling:

5 cups fresh blueberries, rinsed and picked over

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup flour

1 t. grated lemon zest

1 t. cinnamon

a little salt

Mix well. Heap berries into ramekins or bottom pie crust, roll out dough as wished for the tops, making sure you cut a steam vent or use a tiny cookie cutter to cut out a star or heart as a vent for the pie. Sprinkle the crust with a little sugar.

I baked the ramekins for 30 minutes - they were bubbling away like crazy after a half an hour.

I baked the pie for 40 minutes - the berries were cooked well, but still retaining their shapes.

Served with good vanilla bean ice cream would be heaven!

Enjoy!

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