Peaches – Mae Bakes

Summer has arrived in Texas which means PEACHES! This weekend one of my little helpers and I headed to the Texas Farmers Market in Austin to pick up some delicious peaches. Besides eating several of the juicy fruit over the sink I wanted to make a few different bakes with the peaches. The first bake on my list was easy peach turnovers. This one is so easy to bake, you’ll want to bake it on a relaxing Sunday morning to share with your favorite people. They’ll be so glad you did. Below is the recipe along with my Tips, Tricks, and Don’ts that I did. Enjoy!

Ingredients For the Puff Pastry

2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups unsalted butter (2 1/2 sticks), cold
1/2 cup cold water

Instructions For the Puff Pasty

Place the flour and salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
Cut the cold butter into 1/4-inch slices and add to the flour mixture, tossing to coat.
Stir in the cold water until a thick dough forms.
Gather the dough into a ball, flatten it into a disk-shape, and wrap in plastic wrap.
Chill for 1 hour in the fridge, or 20 to 30 minutes in the freezer.
Unwrap the dough, dust the work surface with flour, and roll the dough into a rough rectangle shape.
Fold the dough in thirds, like a letter.
Turn 90 degrees, roll and fold again.
Repeat about 2 to 4 times, wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and chill for 2 hours or overnight.

Ingredients For the Filling

2 cups small diced peaches
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
Flour, for dusting work surface
1 large egg, whisked
Granulated Sugar

Instructions for Turnovers

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, stir together the peaches, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and lemon juice.
Unfold the puff pastry onto a lightly floured work surface. Using a rolling pin, gently roll over the pastry to seal any perforations then cut into 8 squares.
Using a slotted spoon, scoop a portion of the peach mixture into the center of each puff pastry square then fold the pastry across diagonally to form triangles. Using a fork, crimp together the edges then transfer the turnovers to the prepared baking sheets, spacing them at least 2 inches apart.
Cut three small slits in the tops of each turnover then brush them with the egg. Sprinkle the turnovers with sugar.
Bake the turnovers for 20 minutes or until they’re golden brown and puffed. Transfer the turnovers to a rack to cool then serve warm or at room temperature.

Tips, Tricks, and Don’ts That I did

Peaches are my go-to fruit in the summer, but this recipe can be used with strawberries, cherries, or any other fruit you can get in your area.
If you live in the Austin, TX area, I highly recommend the Texas Farmers Market. They operate year-round at two different locations around the city and always have the best vendors with the freshest produce. Check them out here https://texasfarmersmarket.org
If you have the time, make the puff pastry the night before. It’s very easy but does need time to chill. With your pre-made puff pastry the turnovers take just a few minutes to put together and 20 minutes in the oven. It’s one of the easiest and most delicious breakfast pastries you’ll over make.
Make sure not to handle your dough too much when you’re making the puff pastry. A flaky crust requires very cold butter. If your butter starts to melt, pop the dough in the fridge for a few minutes before you continue handling it.
You can use a fork to cut in the cold butter, but a dough blender is much easier. I picked up this one at Target https://www.target.com/p/kitchenaid-pastry-blender-black/-/A-76341870#lnk=sametab
Crimping the pastries is necessary so your filling doesn’t fall out. If your fork starts to stick, dip it in a bit of flour to keep it from sticking.
Turnovers are best served warm and can be reheated in the microwave for about 10 seconds.
If you like this recipe, check out my peach galette recipe here https://eats8.food.blog/easy-peach-galette/
As always, don’t forget to Enjoy!

My love for Texas runs deep and one of the things I love the most about Texas is the produce. Texas has the best of every fruit or vegetable you can imagine, but the real stars of all things produce are the peaches. The peaches here are incredibly delicious and can only be described as juicy and juicy. Peaches here are so juicy you have to eat them over your sink… literally. I’m ashamed to admit that I lived in Austin for a full 3 years before ever trying one. I still remember my first bite in my friend’s car and the unexpected delicious juice explosion that happened. I came home after and ate 4 more over my sink. If you live in Texas and haven’t had a Texas peach, do yourself a favor and stop at the next peach stand you see on the side of the road. Trust me. You’ll thank me later.

For this week’s bake and to celebrate the start of peach season in Texas I decided to bake a few mini peach pies. This past weekend we made a trip to our local farmers market and grabbed the best peaches they had to offer. Below is the recipe for my mini peach pies with a hint of nutmeg and brown sugar along with my tips, tricks, and don’ts that I did. Enjoy!

Ingredients and Directions for Pie Filling

4 cups of sliced peaches (about 5 medium peaches)

2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup all purpose flour

2/3 cup of brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1 tablespoon of ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients into a medium sized bowl and toss to cover peaches.

Ingredients for Double Crust

2 cups of all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon of salt

2/3 cup of butter

1 tablespoon of white vinegar

5-6 tablespoons of 2% milk

1 egg white whisked plus 1 tablespoon of water

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Directions for Pie Crust

In a medium bowl, combine the flour and salt.

Cut in shortening until mixture is crumbly.

Sprinkle with vinegar.

Gradually add milk, tossing with a fork until a ball is formed.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until easy to handle.

Putting it all together

Divide dough into 2 portions, 1 slightly larger than the other.

Roll out larger ball on a lightly floured surface to fit 4 small pie pans.

Add Peach Pie filling to uncooked pie shells. (about 1 cup per mini pie pan)

Roll out remaining pastry to fit tops, trim and flute edges.

Cut slits in tops for venting.

Mix the egg white and water in a small bowl and brush over the pies.

Sprinkle with granulated sugar.

Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue cooking for an additional 30-40 minutes or until tops are golden brown.

Tips and Tricks and Don’ts that I did

To peel or not to peel… lots of peach pie recipes say to peel the peach skin. I left mine on because I love every single part of the peach. Feel free to peel if you’d prefer.

I used a mix bag of super ripe to barely ripe peaches for this recipe. It took a lot of self control not to devour the super ripe peaches over my sink, but it was worth it for the pies. Pick whatever peaches you think are best. If you choose all barely ripe peaches you may need to bake your pies a tad longer.

The pie crust recipe can be used for a full pie instead of 4 minis. If you make the full pie you’ll need about 2 additional cups of peaches.

If you don’t like the taste of nutmeg, feel free to substitute with cinnamon.

Go ahead and wrap your edges with foil before you start baking the pies. Usually I wrap pie edges mid-bake, but for these lil guys you’ll get an even bake without any burnt edges if you foil wrap pre-bake.

Don’t over bake your pies. Once the pies are golden and the peach juice starts to bubble it’s time to take them out.

Don’t be sad if the pies aren’t perfect. I was a little dissapointed when my pretty pies ended up with peach juice all over them, but the peach juice is delicious and adds a little peach flavor to the crusts.

These pies don’t have a ton of added sugar which makes them fairly healthy so don’t feel guilty if you eat an entire mini pie… or two.

You can sub regular flour for a gluten free blend if you want a gf crust.

These pies are delicious by themselves or you can whip up some homemade whipped cream or vanilla ice cream to go with them.

Don’t forget to Enjoy!

Tag: Peaches

Easy Peach Turnovers

Mini Peach Pies