Summer peaches, which reach their peak in Alabama in June and July, are the source for so many delicious dishes, from jam to cobbler to cake and ice cream. What’s your favorite way to enjoy a ripe peach?
Food prepared and photographed by Brooke Echols
Cook of the Month: Wanda Stinson, Pioneer EC
Wanda Stinson of Georgiana has been a regular contributor to our recipe pages, and has placed in several cooking contests over the years, but this is the first time she’s been chosen for Alabama Living Cook of the Month honors. Her prize-winning recipe for “Granie Wanda’s Peach Cake” (Granie is spelled that way because it was the way her grandson spelled it when he was young) was her own creation, but based on a favorite recipe for a peach cake she’d enjoyed for years at Peach Park in Clanton. “I’m originally from Chilton County,” says Stinson, who moved to Butler County in 1986. “I missed the peaches from Peach Park, so when I’d go back home I always got peaches and some of the peach cake they make.” They wouldn’t share the recipe, so she made up her own, which she says is “close” to the one made at the Park. The key is using fresh peaches (preferably from Chilton County, of course), rather than frozen, she advises. “So I wait until peach season!” –Lenore Vickrey
Granie Wanda’s Peach Cake
- 2 sticks sweet cream salted butter, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 6 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon almond flavoring
- 1 tablespoon vanilla flavoring
- 3 cups cake flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup sour cream
- 3 cups fresh, ripe but firm peaches, diced
- 9 ounces apricot or peach Jello, divided
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray tube pan with baking spray. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add flavoring. Sift flour, baking soda and salt. Add flour mixture alternately with sour cream to creamed butter mixture. Fold in peaches and 6 ounces of dry Jello mix; save the remainder for the glaze. Spoon into a pan and bake for 60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Top with glaze.
Peach glaze:
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 12-ounce can Faygo peach soda
- 2 or 3 peaches, peeled and sliced
- Reserved Jello powder
Add sugar, butter and soda to a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add peaches and cook for about 2 minutes. Remove peaches with a slotted spoon and set aside for cake garnish. Add the jello, stirring to dissolve and cook 2 minutes. Leave cake in pan and punch holes in cake with thin knife. Pour glaze over cake slowly so that it will absorb. Save a small amount for top of cake. Let stand about 15 minutes. Invert on cake plate. Garnish with reserved peaches and remaining glaze.
Mrs. Audrey’s Peachy Habanero Key Lime Pie
- 1 shortbread crust (you can also use graham cracker crust)
- 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- 1/2 cup key lime juice
- 4 eggs, separated
- 1/2 cup Mrs. Audrey’s Peach Habanero Jam (recipe below)
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 2 tablespoons slivered almonds
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine egg yolks (save whites for later), condensed milk, peach habanero jam and key lime juice in a bowl with a electric mixer. Whisk the egg whites until stiff, slowly adding cream of tartar. Add pie filling to crust and top with egg whites. Sprinkle slivered almonds over the top and bake for 15 minutes.
Mrs. Audrey’s Peach Habanero Jam:
- 1 pound frozen peach slices
- 2 cups sugar (or sugar substitute)
- 2 tablespoons key lime juice
- 2 habanero peppers, seeded and diced
Add ingredients to pot and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely before adding to jars. Can be kept in fridge for up to 2 weeks, in freezer for up to 3 months, or you can seal them in a hot water bath. Yield: 2 8-ounce jars.
Audrey Peak, Central Alabama EC
Fresh Peach Smoothie
- 4 peaches, peeled and diced
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 cups Half & Half
- Pinch of cinnamon
Place ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth. Makes 2 servings.
Linda Persall, Cullman EC
Peach Crunch Crust
Crust:
- 1½ cups pecans, chopped
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2¼ sticks margarine, softened
Filling:
- 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
- 1 pound box powdered sugar
- 1 12-ounce container Cool Whip
Topping:
- 1 quart fresh peaches, peeled and sliced and sweetened lightly
- 1 cup or bag Wick’s peach glaze
Crust: Mix together flour, pecans and softened margarine. Press into a 9×13-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until brown as you desire. Cool.
Filling: Mix cream cheese and powdered sugar. Add Cool Whip and mix well. After crust is cool, spread over the top of the crust.
Topping: After sugar has dissolved, add peach glaze. Mix well and spread over the top of the second layer. Chill and serve.
Cook’s note: If you can’t find fresh peaches, you can use canned peaches. Drain and stir in Wick’s peach glaze or try strawberries with strawberry glaze for a different flavor.
Nellie Wells, Sand Mountain EC
Cheesecake Peach Puff
- 1 or 2 package(s) flakey and layered puff pastry
- 1 bar cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 1 19.4-ounce can peach halves in light syrup
- 1 egg
Combine the cream cheese, sugar and the sour cream in a bowl, mix well. In a mixing bowl, mash the peaches until there are only small chunks left. Roll out the puff pastry and cut it into any size or shape. I like to make triangles and fold the pastry over the filling or cut a second triangle to place on top. Some prefer to leave them open face. Use multiple pans, if needed. Beat the egg and lightly brush the tops and/or sides of the puff pastry. Put the pans into the oven and bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. No need to preheat the oven.
Ethan Williams, Arab EC
Blackberry – Peach Muffins
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1¼ cup sugar, plus a little extra to sprinkle on top of muffin mix before baking
- 2 large eggs, softened
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup milk
- 2 cups fresh blackberries (or substitute frozen; thaw and drain)
- 1½ cups fresh peaches, chopped
Dredge peaches in 1/8 cup flour. Dredge blackberries in remaining 1/8 cup. (Try very hard not to break up blackberries during this step or you’ll end up with purple batter.) Grease the muffin tins with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time and mix. Sift all dry ingredients and add slowly to creamed egg mixture.
Gently fold in dredged fruit with a spatula (remember purple batter warning!). Fill muffin tins ¾ of the way for 18 muffins or all the way to the top for 12 muffins. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 30 minutes.
Cook’s note: Tastes great with a bit of butter, or even better, honey butter.
Deborah Byrd, Baldwin EMC
Peach Cobbler
- Peach Mixture:
- 5 to 6 fresh peaches, peeled, cored, and sliced (about 4 cups)
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Batter (Crust) Ingredients:
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Add the sliced peaches, sugar, and salt to a saucepan and stir to mix. Cook on medium heat for a few minutes until the sugar is dissolved. This step helps bring out the juices from the peaches. Remove from heat and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice the butter into pieces and add it to a 9×13-inch baking dish. Place the dish in the oven while it preheats to allow the butter to melt. Once melted remove the dish from the oven.
In a large bowl mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the milk, just until combined. Pour the mixture into the dish over the melted butter and smooth it into an even layer.
Spoon the peaches and juice over the batter. Sprinkle the cinnamon generously over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 38-40 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with a scoop of ice cream.
Jason French, South Alabama EC
Grannie’s Homemade Peach Ice Cream
- 8 large peaches
- 1 cup of sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 cans sweetened condensed milk
- 8 ounces heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 gallon whole milk
Blend peaches and cover with sugar. Mix eggs, sweetened condensed milk, whipping cream, vanilla and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add peaches and mix ingredients. Pour into churn canister and add whole milk to fill line. Follow ice cream maker’s instructions for churning.
Dan Canalejo, Pea River EC
The Buttered Home
Some of my fondest childhood memories of summer are of time spent with my Granddaddy, Daddy Joe. We did all kinds of fun things every summer. Bluegrass festivals, yard sales and visiting with neighbors were some of our favorite activities. Every night before bed, we would eat ice cream.
Probably some of my favorite times were when we would visit with his friends and neighbors, the farmers he loved so. We would always come home with arms full of fresh fruit and produce. Now, when I bite into a fresh summer peach, it brings back some really warm memories of my Daddy Joe and all the time I got to spend with him.
When I developed this recipe, I thought of him and how he would love something so simple and so sweet and how it would be perfect to have with our 10 p.m. summer night ice cream. For more memory-making recipes, check out our website at thebutteredhome.com.
Oven-Roasted Peaches
- 2 to 4 ripe peaches
- 1/4 cup brown sugar or sugar-free brown sugar substitute
Preheat broiler to medium to high. Wash, dry and peel peaches. Remove the pits and slice peaches into bite-size slices. Place peach slices on a sheet pan fitted with parchment paper. Sprinkle with brown sugar.
Broil 2-4 minutes. Turn peaches and sprinkle with sugar again and broil 2 to 4 minutes. Let cool slightly and serve over ice cream.
