Peach & Blueberry Crumbles

I think my exact words were “This f-ing rocks!” after my first bite.  Pardon my French, please.  But seriously, this was the best dessert I have put in my mouth in ages. I just don’t know how to better explain how good this was than by my foul-mouthed comment above.  The peaches were sweet and flavorful and they held their shape even though cooked for 1 hour, much to my surprise. Many of the blueberries burst open and blended in beautifully with the flour and sugar, creating a delectable and thick filling.  And don’t even get me started on the crumble!! This crumble topping was without a doubt the best one I’ve ever had.  All put together, stone fruit and berry heaven.

I know there are so many different type of peaches to choose from this time of year but I used donut peaches which are also affectionately known as UFO peaches because as you can see above, the center of the tops and bottoms and of these peaches are concave giving them the illusion of looking like donuts or well, UFOs.  I chose these funny looking fruits because they smelled the best out of any of the peaches I sniffed at the grocery store this afternoon.  Unfortunately, local peach season doesn’t happen here in CT until August so I had to choose carefully in order to find nice ripe ones.

You’ll see that I baked my crumble in one dish rather than ramekins.  I planned to halve the recipe and use 3-4 ramekins but bought more peaches than I needed for a half recipe.  So I used 6 donut peaches (or about 4-5 larger peaches), and the full amounts for the filling and crumble.  There definitely wasn’t too much of the filling and crumble in comparison to the fruit though!  And according to the Musings post on the BB blog, more filling was needed anyway.  Thus I baked my crumble in an 8″x8″x4″ soufflé dish.  And because there was so much crumble, filling and fruit in this smaller dish, I baked it for 30 minutes covered lightly with a piece of aluminum foil, then 35 minutes uncovered, then I turned the broiler on for about 3 minutes to finish browning the top.

Many thanks to Aggie of Aggie’s Kitchen for choosing this perfect summer dessert for the Barefoot Bloggers to try out this month!!  Be sure to head over to the BB blog and check out how much everyone else loved this one!

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This week one year ago: Roasted Corn Salad, Herbed New Potatoes, and Smoked Salmon Spread

This week two years ago: Crockpot Pulled Pork, and Sausage and Pepper Pasta

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Peach & Blueberry Crumble

source: Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa at Home, pages 197-198

For the fruit:

• 2 lbs firm, ripe peaches (6-8 peaches)
• 2 tsp grated lemon zest
• 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup fresh blueberries (1/2 pint)

For the crumble:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 lb (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Immerse the peaches in boiling water for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until their skins peel off easily.  Place them immediately in cold water.  Peel the peaches, slice them into thick wedges, and place them in a large bowl.  Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, granulated sugar, and flour.  Toss well.  Gently mix in the blueberries.  Allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes.  Spoon the mixture into ramekins or custard cups.
3. For the topping, combine the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.  Mix on low speed until the butter is the size of peas.  Rub the mixture with your fingertips until it’s in big crumbles, then sprinkle evenly over the fruit.  Place the ramekins on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and back for 40 to 45 minutes, until the tops are browned and crisp and the juices are bubbly.  Serve warm or at room temperature.  If you want to make these early, store the unbaked crumbles int he refrigerator and bake before dinner.  Serves 5 to 6.

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