Simply Suzanne's AT HOME: peaches dessert

It's peach season around here . . . and we're enjoying them with everything!

There's nothing like walking through the Farmers Market in late July and August when fruits are at their peak . . . strawberries, plums, berries, and peaches. It smells like sweet heaven!

I shared this amazing 'best shortbread' recipe with you last week, along with my version of an affogato with tea and shortbread.

I mentioned at the end of the post that I made peaches and cream shortbread cookies for my husband and little ones. So I thought I would share this fun, easy, and fresh recipe with you while peaches are at their prime.

Using one of my favorite fluted cookie cutters, I pressed small round shortbread cookies from the large one that I made for my birthday celebration.

Charley and I found the SWEETEST peaches at our local Farmers Market. They were perfect for our cookie dessert!

To make this fun for our little ones, I set up a peaches and cream shortbread cookie bar so that they could make their own. It was so much fun!

. . . . . .

sliced peaches

small scoops of vanilla bean ice cream

small shortbread cookies

cinnamon

. . . . . .

And for my husband's dessert . . . I finely chopped fresh peaches, folded them into vanilla bean ice cream, and then topped it with crumbled shortbread cookies. So good!

And for a little extra treat, I sprinkled a dash of cinnamon on top of everyone's cookies and sundaes.

I love simple and fresh Summer desserts like this one! I hope you do, too!

best shortbread

courtesy Cook's Illustrated
. . . . . .

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup cornstarch

2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

14 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/8-inch thick slices

. . . . . .

Preparation

Preheat oven to 450 F. Place the collar of a 9-inch spring form pan upside down on a parchment-lined baking sheet. (The groove of the collar should be at the top.)

Pulse the oats in a mini prep or food processor until reduced to fine powder, about ten 5-second pulses. In bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix ground oats, all-purpose flour, cornstarch, sugar, and salt on low speed until combined, about 5 seconds. Add the butter to the mixer and continue to mix on low speed until dough just forms and pulls away from sides of bowl, 5 to 10 minutes.

Press the dough into the spring form collar in an even 1/2-inch-thick layer, smoothing top of dough with back of spoon. Using a 2-inch biscuit cutter, cut a hole in the center of the dough. Place the round alongside spring form collar on baking sheet and place the biscuit cutter back into the hole in the center of the dough. Open the spring form collar all the way, but leave it in place around the dough.

Bake the shortbread 5 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 250 F. Continue to bake the shortbread until the edges turn pale golden, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Remove baking sheet from oven and turn off oven. Remove the biscuit cutter and spring form pan collar; use a chef’s knife to score surface of shortbread into 16 even wedges, cutting halfway through shortbread. Using a wooden skewer, poke 8 to 10 holes in each wedge. Return the shortbread to the oven and prop door open with handle of wooden spoon. Allow the shortbread to dry in turned-off oven until pale golden in center, about 1 hour.

Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack and cool the shortbread to room temperature, at least 2 hours. Cut shortbread at scored marks to separate.