Peaches and Cream Galette

I confess, I stole some peaches the other day. On my drive home from Atti’s doctor I pass by miles of peach orchards, and last week, on my way home from picking up 100 pounds of tomatoes I’m turning into marinara, I saw the ground of several of those orchards smothered in rotting fruit. The canner in me just couldn’t let that be, so I pulled the car over, grabbed my reusable grocery bags, and picked myself some peaches. Upon closer inspection, I think the orchard had already been harvested and what was left was fruit that had been immature when the machinery came through, but was exactly right for me.

Later today I’ll be turning those peaches into jam and fruit butter, but I had to save some to bake up in a pastry right away.

Peaches and Cream Galette
2 peaches
1 brick of cream cheese
1/3 C powdered sugar
1/4 C honey
1 egg
cinnamon
1 puff pastry sheet

Blanch the peaches to remove the skin. I’m usually just happy to get rid of the fuzz and leave the skin be, but blanching will also make it really easy to remove the pit. Slice the peaches into thin wedges and set aside.

Warm the cream cheese in the microwave until it’s loose enough to stir. Mix in the powdered sugar.

Prepare the puff pasty as instructed by the box. Roll it out to 12″ x 9″, but this is a rustic dessert, so no need to be precise. Spread the cream cheese onto the pastry dough, leaving about an inch of each edge uncovered, and cover with peach slices. Pinch the edges of the dough up around the fruit to make a fence.

Give your egg a little whip with some water and a dash of salt, and spread the mixture on top of the crust. Warm the honey until it’s thin enough to pour and drizzle it on top of the peaches. Finish with a dash of cinnamon and bake at 400 for 15 minutes or until the crust is flaky and golden brown.

I used a puff pastry because it’s so easy, but I just saw this galette recipe with a dough she raves about, so next time I might have to give that a try.

When I bought my puff pastry I accidentally left the box on the counter allowing both of the sheets to defrost, so I made two galettes, thinking I would serve one to the teenagers Bear had over to the house for a cooking lesson. As soon as I pulled it out of the oven, I knew that was never going to happen. So I hid them on top of the fridge until they left and we ate them all ourselves. And I’d do it again if I had the chance.