Fresh Peach Shortcakes

Fresh Peach Shortcakes – Light & Luscious

Even with peach season approaching its end, you can still find golden, juicy gems aplenty to celebrate Labor Day in style with Fresh Peach Shortcakes. Light and luscious with ripe peaches, tender gluten-free biscuits, and luxurious maple sweetened whipped cream. Making these gorgeous Fresh Peach Shortcakes is a labor of love on Labor Day and throughout peach season, from July through mid-September.

Be choosy choosing peaches
Many people consider peaches as the stars of the summer. As few fruits can match up to bend-over peaches. The type you want to eat over a bowl to catch their sweet and exuberant juices.

On the other hand, peaches can disappoint. You know the ones I mean. Forget about using those dry, flavorless peaches in making Fresh Peach Shortcakes. For shortcakes, choose the best peaches you can find and let them shine.

My tips for choosing peaches

Choose peaches that give to a gentle touch. These are the peaches that will ripen all the way. Then leave them out on the kitchen counter until they become soft and ready to eat.
Choose peaches with a warm and deep base color showing no signs of green.
Choose organic. Conventionally grown peaches consistently show up in the Environmental Working Groups Dirty Dozen list of produce testing the highest for pesticide residue.

This recipe serves 10. Perfect for celebrating birthdays, summer, life and all good things. The recipe can easily be increased or halved. Use all peaches, or get creative with a few plums, nectarines and/or berries.
Printer Friendly Recipe

First things first, here’s how to peel a peach:

Bring a pot of water to a boil.
Drop a few peaches into the boiling water.
After 30 seconds, remove the peaches to a large bowl of ice water.
Use a small knife to gently lift off the skin.

Makes Ten Fresh Peach Shortcakes
Active Time 75 minutes
Total Time 2 hours, 15 minutes including time to make and rest the dough, and to bake the shortcake biscuits.

Ingredients

Chunky Peach Sauce
3-4 large, ripe, peaches, peeled and ½ -inch diced, to equal 4 cups
½ tablespoon organic sugar
¾ teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Toss everything together. Let the peaches sit for at least one hour.
Purée in a food processor until chunky-smooth. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

Sliced Peaches
5-6 large ripe peaches, peeled and sliced 1/8-inch thick, to equal 6 ½ cups
1 tablespoon organic sugar
½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Gently toss the sliced peaches with the sugar and lemon juice.
Let sit at least 30 minutes to draw out some of the peach juices.

Maple Sweetened Cream
2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons real maple syrup
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Just before you assemble the Fresh Peach Shortcakes, whip the cream until it forms soft peaks using either a food processor, an electric mixer or a wire whisk.

Assembly

To keep the biscuits from becoming mushy, assemble Fresh Peach Shortcakes shortly before you eat them.

Place 3-4 tablespoons of the Chunky Peach Sauce in the bottom of each plate or bowl.
Cut the biscuits in half horizontally. Place the bottom half, with the bottom side down, on top of the Chunky Peach Sauce.
Cover the biscuit with about ½ cup of sliced peaches.
Spoon on a dollop of whipped cream.
Add about ¼ cup of sliced peaches.
Top with the top half of the biscuit.
Crown with a spoonful of whipped cream.

Gluten-Free Biscuits for Shortcake

Tender biscuits perfect for Fresh Peach Shortcakes. Inspired by and adapted from recipes from Cooks’ Illustrated and Cup4Cup.

The biscuits come together very quickly in a food processor.
While the dough is resting in the refrigerator, prepare both the Chunky Peach Sauce and sliced peaches.
The biscuits can be made and baked up to a couple of hours in advance of assembling the shortcakes.
To ensure that the biscuit bottoms and tops brown at the same time, bake the biscuits on either an insulated baking sheet or on a double pan. A double pan consists of two rimmed baking sheets sitting on top of one another so there is a layer of air between them.

Makes Ten 2-inch biscuits
Active time     25 minutes
Total time       2 hours including resting and baking time

Ingredients

2 cups Gluten-free Flour mix such as Cup4Cup
¼ cup organic sugar
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon sea salt
6 tablespoons cold butter cut into ½-inch cubes
1 large egg
2 tablespoons neutral oil, i.e. avocado oil
½ cup plain, whole milk yogurt
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Optional
Coconut milk for brushing on tops
Organic sugar, for sprinkling

Directions

Place the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Use the pulse button to distribute the dry ingredients. Add the cold butter. Use the pulse button until the mixture resembles very coarse cornmeal.
In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, oil, yogurt and vanilla. Add these wet ingredients all at once to the food processor. Again use the pulse button. Mix until the dough just comes together.
Turn the dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Press the dough into a ball. Wrap it in the plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for 1 hour.
After 1 hour, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Lightly flour your work surface with the gluten-free flour mix you are using. Unwrap the dough and pat and roll it out ¾-1-inch thick. Use a 2-inch biscuit cutter to cut the dough into rounds. Pat the remaining dough together and continue to cut out the biscuits.
Place the biscuits at least one inch apart on the parchment lined baking sheet. Brush the tops lightly with lite coconut milk and sprinkle them with a pinch of sugar.
Bake for 20 minutes on a double pan. Raise the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Rotate the double pan 180 degrees. Bake the biscuits for another 10 minutes until golden brown.

Printer-Friendly Recipe.

Save