Well here we are, almost into September. Once again, summer has breezed by! A few weeks ago I was on a major canning kick. Any produce we got our hands on I tried to preserve- crushed tomatoes, cucumber pickles, peach salsa, peach jam, apricot lavender jam, fig jam, plum butter, apricot orange marmalade…the list goes on. Zack picked a bunch of wild raspberries from the woods out back and we even made a jam out of those. It’s a labor of love but the sound of a jar sealing is so satisfying to me. It gives me a little thrill. It’s the simple things…
Last week my mom was visiting and we drove to Palisade for the day. I have never seen so many produce stands in one area in my life! Colorado certainly has some of the most beautiful country. I was reminded of this again today when I was delivering a cake to an area I’d never driven through. I love that Colorado continues to awe me.
We have been enjoying the heaps of peaches that come along with late summer, and I’ve been trying to make a few treats here and there that just truly let the peaches in the recipe shine.
Browsing through some recipes I came across this old favorite. I’ve renamed this recipe “Peach Pie Scones” because that’s exactly what one of these tastes like. They’re magnificent. The scone dough bakes up tender and light, while the peach jam and fresh peaches make a splendid filling. For us, using homemade jam and local peaches made them burst with flavor.
How to make this high altitude adjusted recipe:
Peach Pie Scones adapted from The Pastry Queen by Rebecca Rather
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup + 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon + ¼ tablespoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, chilled
- 1 cup + 1 tablespoon buttermilk
- ½ tablespoon vanilla
- ½ cup peach jam
- 1 peach, peeled, pitted, and diced
- Preheat your oven to 400 F.
- Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
- Cut the butter into small cubes and add them to the flour mixture. Use a pastry cutter or a fork to blend the butter into the four mixture.
- Blend until the butter is the size of small peas.
- Add the buttermilk and vanilla. Using your hand, stir slowly until a dough starts to form.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a 10 x 9" rectangle.
- Spread the peach jam on the bottom half of the dough. Sprinkle the diced peach over the jam.
- Fold the top half of the dough over the jam and peaches.
- Using a large knife, cut the dough into six squares. Cut each square on the diagonal to form triangles.
- Sprinkle the tops of the scones with additional sugar, if desired, and transfer to parchment lined baking sheets. Make sure each scone is spaced at least 2" apart.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the scones are a light golden brown.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
- Makes 12 scones.
Note: This recipe was adapted for high altitude baking. To make at sea level, increase baking powder to 1 1/2 tablespoons and use 1 cup of buttermilk.
