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Caramel Peach Cobbler
If you love road trips as much as I do, this is the perfect time to hop in the car and visit our Arizona farms and ranches to pick some tree ripened fruit. Even though we are approaching the end of peach season, there are still some tasty ones for the pickin’, and Amadio Ranch is the perfect destination! This small, family heritage farm in Laveen, Arizona produces a number of naturally grown heirloom vegetables and plenty of fruits like peaches, many of which get turned into made-from-scratch fruit pies that you can buy at the ranch. Also, look for the Amadio Ranch Peach Truck at farmer’s markets throughout the Valley. So, once you buy your peaches, give this Caramel Peach Cobbler a try! It goes together in three layers, but in the oven, the bottom layer rises to the top and bubbles over the peaches to create a delicious cobbler! The most time-consuming part of the entire recipe is peeling the skin off the peaches, so I have a fabulous tip that will make the process so much easier in the directions. This reminds me of a farmhouse recipe that you might find at a charming place like Amadio Ranch, and believe me, if you make it for family or friends, they’ll think it’s just peachy keen!
Watch my How to Video for Caramel Peach Cobbler here!
Praline Apple Pie
The old torn up cookbook has no publishing date on it, but it had to have been produced when home economics teachers were a big part of the regular school curriculum. Those days are long gone, and with them many of the treasured recipes that they undoubtedly shared with students like this Praline Apple Pie. The cookbook is called Our Favorite Desserts from Home Economics Teachers and includes 2000 desserts submitted and tested by teachers from all over the US and Canada. Wow, where to begin? So, I started with the “A’s” and this fantastic and unique apple pie recipe jumped out at me. As if a good home made apple pie isn’t scrumptious enough, this one has a glazed caramel topping that enrobes the pecans and gets poured all over the top of the pie after it’s cooked. The recipe calls for mace, which is the outer covering of the nutmeg seed. It’s a bit sweeter and milder that nutmeg, but if you don’t have mace, nutmeg will work just fine. (Grinding the nutmeg fresh is always so much more flavorful than the pre-ground variety). I have to thank my friends Linda and Luther Bruce of Paradise Valley for the phone call I always love getting, “Jan! We found some old cookbooks and I knew you’d put them to good use!” You better believe I will. Enjoy this twist on the all -American favorite!
Apple Fritter Bread
Donuts with our coffee were always a treat in my family because we didn’t buy them very often. When you’re Italian, the perfect paring with your espresso is a biscotti. But oh, those donuts! My real weakness, though, was an apple fritter. Those rugged, rustic clumps of dough smooshed together with apple bits laced with an ooey gooey glaze were just too irresistible! Now, to make matters worse for my waistline, what sits before me is a bread pan bubbling over with what pretty much looks like an apple fritter on steroids. This is going to be really good…or really bad depending on how much willpower I have. I found this recipe for Apple Fritter Pull Apart Bread that is made with delicious and delicate a sweet yeast dough and sugary, buttery diced apples that are caramelized. The dough is rolled out, topped with the diced apples, and then sliced in squares, stacked in groups of four, and just stuffed into the pan. This recipe is just downright fun. The pan went into the oven and an hour later, setting before me were apples laced slabs of heaven ready to be pulled apart and devoured! You can make this with the homemade dough recipe below or you can make it with refrigerated croissant dough. Just promise me you’ll make it!
