Peach Cream Puffs Food

SPICED PEACH PUFFS

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, bring the water, butter, nutmeg and salt to a boil. Add flour all at once and stir until a smooth ball forms. Remove from the heat; let stand for 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue beating until mixture is smooth and shiny. , Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 400° for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to a wire rack. Immediately split puffs open; remove tops and set aside. Discard soft dough from inside. Cool puffs., For filling, in a large bowl, beat cream until it begins to thicken. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla; beat until stiff peaks form., Just before serving, fill puffs with whipped cream and peaches. Dust with additional confectioners' sugar.

CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• Mix together vanilla instant pudding mix, cream and milk. Cover and refrigerate to set.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• In a large pot, bring water and butter to a rolling boil. Stir in flour and salt until the mixture forms a ball. Transfer the dough to a large mixing bowl. Using a wooden spoon or stand mixer, beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet.
• Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Centers should be dry.
• When the shells are cool, either split and fill them with the pudding mixture, or use a pastry bag to pipe the pudding into the shells.

TRADITIONAL ST. JOSEPH'S RICOTTA CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• Spoon the ricotta into a large, fine-mesh sieve or a colander lined with a double thickness of cheesecloth or basket-type coffee filter. Set the sieve over a bowl, and cover the ricotta well with plastic wrap. Drain in the refrigerator at least overnight, or up to 24 hours. Discard the liquid in the bottom of the bowl.
• Process the drained ricotta and 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade until creamy. Pour in the Grand Marnier and process until incorporated. Scrape the ricotta mixture into a bowl and stir in the candied fruits and chocolate chips. Store in the refrigerator, covered, until needed, up to 2 days.
• Bring the water, butter, granulated sugar, and salt to a boil in a large, heavy saucepan. Add the flour all at once, and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon over medium heat until the dough leaves the sides of the pan and forms a ball around the spoon. Remove from heat, and quickly beat in one egg at a time, beating until the batter is smooth after each addition. Add the orange and lemon zest, and continue beating until mixture is smooth and glossy.
• Heat the vegetable oil in a heavy 3-quart pot until a deep-frying thermometer registers 350° F. Carefully drop rounded tablespoonfuls of the batter into the oil, about six at a time. (There should be enough room in the pot for the zeppole to float freely.) Fry, turning the zeppole as necessary, until golden brown on all sides, about 6 minutes. Adjust the heat under the pot to maintain the temperature of the oil as the zeppole fry. Remove with a skimmer and drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining batter, allowing the oil to return to 350° F before continuing, if necessary.
• Preheat the oven to 425° F. Drop the batter by rounded tablespoonfuls onto a lightly greased or nonstick baking pan. Bake until evenly and lightly golden brown, about 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350° F, and continue baking until medium golden brown and a zeppola feels very light when picked up from the baking sheet, about 15 minutes.Transfer to a rack and cool completely.
• Cut the zeppole in half, leaving them attached on one side. Spoon the filling into the zeppole, dividing evenly. Dust the tops of the zeppole with confectioners' sugar and serve at room temperature or, if you prefer, chilled.

OLD-FASHIONED PEACH CREAM PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Whisk together the 3/4 cup sugar, the 2 tablespoons flour, and salt. Beat in the sour cream, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the sliced peaches. Pour the mixture into the pie crust.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 12 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and continue baking until the filling is set, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven.
• Raise oven temperature to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Whisk together the 1/3 cup flour, 1/3 cup sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Mix in the butter with a fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the pie.
• Return the pie to the preheated oven and bake until topping is golden, about 10 minutes. Let pie cool slightly before slicing.

CREAM-FILLED PEACH COOKIES

Steps:

• Pastry cream:.
• In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring half and half to a simmer over medium heat. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, vigorously whisk egg yolks, sugar and salt until thick and pale yellow; add cornstarch and whisk until completely smooth. Whisking constantly, gradually add warm half and half. Return mixture to saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until custard is very thick and paste-like in texture, and begins to boil, about 6 minutes. Add peach preserves and vanilla and stir until completely incorporated. Transfer to a medium bowl and cover with plastic, pressing directly onto surface of custard, and chill until cold, at least 2 hours.
• Cookies:.
• Whisk flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl until combined. Whisk eggs and sugar in another bowl until foamy. Add milk, peach juice, butter, vanilla and orange zest and whisk until combined. Fold wet mixture into the dry until dough comes together and no lumps of flour remain. Batter will be very thick and sticky.
• Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 350°. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment; set aside. Rub hands with melted butter to prevent the dough from sticking and roll a tablespoon of dough firmly between your palms to make a smooth, round ball. Repeat with remaining dough (and more butter if necessary) arranging balls on prepared baking sheets spaced 1" apart, 24 balls per sheet. Balls should be uniform in size and shape. Rub hands with butter and lightly flatten each ball, they will round out slightly and look more peach-like as they bake. Bake one tray at a time in the center rack until bottoms are lightly browned but the tops are still pale, 14-16 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool 5 minutes.
• While the cookies are still warm, use a small, sharp paring knife to cut a circle about the size of a quarter on the bottom (flat) side of each cookie, taking care not to crack the edges or pierce the top. Use the tip of the knife to scrape out enough crumbs to hollow out and hold a teaspoon of pastry cream. Set cookies aside.
• Assembly:.
• Stir peach juice and 10 drops food coloring in a small, stain resistant bowl until color is uniform and bright red. Transfer sugar to a small bowl. Give the pastry cream a vigorous stir to break it up and smooth it out. Fill each cookie shell with a heaping teaspoon of pastry cream, smooth the surface of the cream and wipe any excess off the rim of the cookie. The cookie cavity should be full but not stuffed or the cookie might crack or break. Repeat with remaining cookies and cream.
• Gently sandwich two cookies together being careful not to crack or break but pressing them together until they stick (the cream is the glue). If the cookies won't stay together, add a little more cream and try again. Using a pastry brush, paint each "peach" with colored juice and roll in sugar to coat. Repeat with remaining cookies. Transfer to a baking sheet, loosely cover with plastic wrap and chill 8 hours, overnight works great. Just before serving, insert a small sprig of mint and a single whole clove where the two cookies come together.

PEACH TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• In a bowl, combine the peaches, sugar and flour; toss to mix.
• Add lemon juice and stir to combine.
• On a floured work surface, roll out the puff pastry into a 15-inch round, about 1/4-inch thick.
• Place the pastry on an ungreased baking sheet and spoon the peaches into the center, leaving about 2 inches uncovered around the perimeter.
• The fruit will be stacked high but will reduce in volume as it cooks.
• Fold the uncovered edges of the pastry up to cover as much of the fruit as possible, pinching and tucking the dough as necessary.
• Dot the top of the fruit with the butter pieces.
• Bake until the pastry is puffed and golden brown, about 30 minutes.
• Do not undercook.
• Cut into wedges and serve hot.