Peach Shortbread

Last month I purchased a big box of peaches and instantly started looking on my favorite sites for recipes to use up the delicious fruit.  I found this recipe for Peach Shortbread from Smitten Kitchen and since she never disappoints I knew it would be the perfect.  I whipped this up one evening after work and it was the perfect coffee/afternoon/after dinner treat to snack on all week long.  It's deceptively simple to put together - even Mom & Dad said it tasted like it was from a real bakery!  Give this one a try next time you find yourself with leftover peaches - I even froze some sliced peaches so I can recreate this when I'm craving the flavors of summer in the dead of winter.  Enjoy!

Peach Shortbread

Ingredients

1 cup white sugar

1 tsp baking powder

2 3/4 cups plus 2 Tblsp all purpose flour {or 3 cups minus 2 Tblsp}

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup {2 sticks} cold unsalted butter

1 large egg

2 peaches, pitted and thinly sliced

Instructions

1. Brown your butter {not necessary, but totally worth it}.  Melt butter in small/medium saucepan over medium low heat.  It will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden, and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty.  Stir frequently.  It can burn very quickly after it browns, so keep an eye on it so it doesn't get that way {I had to look up several how to videos to make sure I was doing it right}.  Set in freezer until solid, about 30 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 375.  Butter a 9x13 baking pan.  In medium bowl stir together sugar, baking powder, flour, salt and spices with a whisk.  Using a pastry blender or your fingertips, blend the solidified browned butter and egg into the flour mixture until crumbly.  

3. Pat 3/4 of the crumbs into the bottom of the prepared pan, pressing firmly.  Top with peach slices in a single layer over the crumbs.  Scatter remaining crumbs evenly over peaches and bake for 30 minutes, until top is slightly brown and you can see a little color on the edges.  Cool completely before cutting into squares.

3. Store in the refrigerator up to a week or freeze in individual squares.

adapted from smitten kitchen

xoxo,

stephanie marie