stone fruit – Wait…are those…cookies?!

June 19, 2021

the first of the stone fruit!

hello hello!

It’s been a minute, though that doesn’t mean I haven’t been baking.

Last weekend was actually pretty productive on the baking front – two batches of cookies, a galette (blueberry-rhubarb with a walnut crumble) and some blueberry walnut bars.

All of which were riffs on things I’ve made and posted here and here, so I didn’t want duplicate posts. Also was enjoying a lazy, tech-free weekend so I thought I’d skip the blog posts.

This weekend though, I’m busting out the first of the stone fruit!! Apricots and cherries are always the first to make an appearance, and I love them together, so that’s a win-win. I considered making a galette but since I’ve been making so many lately, I wanted to do something different.

This is a new drop biscuit recipe – these come together in about five seconds, either in a food processor or by hand. Very easy, very delicious, and would be amazing on top of any seasonal fruit, be it stone fruit or otherwise.

So delicious with ice cream (personal fave) or by itself.

The city is is bloom! I pass these on one of my normal walk route and I can’t help but always stop and admire them. So pretty!

We’ve also had some really spectacular sunrises and sunsets lately – this one is from a morning bay swim around 6a and then a sunset from my place.

Happy weekend! I hope yours is relaxing and full of delicious baked things.

Cherry & Apricot Cobbler with Cornmeal Poppyseed Biscuits

Refined sugar free and whole grain. A Wait are those Cookies original. Yield: 1 cobbler (~9″ or so, depending on pan of choice), serves several.

for the biscuits:
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour + more as necessary
⅔ cup medium-grind cornmeal
1 tbsp coconut sugar
1.5 tsp poppyseeds
1 ½ tablespoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon sea salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
⅔ cup half and half (or heavy cream) + more for brushing
1 tsp coconut sugar for sprinkling over the tops

for the fruit:
1 pound of cherries, pitted and halved
2 c fresh apricots, sliced
juice and zest of one lemon
1 tbsp tapioca starch
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 tbsp maple
1/4 water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. For filling, in a large bowl, toss together cherries, apricots, lemon zest, and juice. In a small bowl, whisk together tapioca starch, extracts, maple, and water, then pour over the fruit. Allow mixture to stand while making the biscuits.

For the biscuits: add flour, cornmeal, coconut sugar, baking powder and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine (or whisk everything together in a bowl). Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal (or cut in the butter by hand). Pour in cream and continue pulsing (or stir) until dough starts to come together, scraping down sides of bowl if necessary.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently pat it together. Divide it equally into 8 balls, then flatten them slightly into thick rounds. Scrape filling into a 2 1/2-quart baking dish or very deep pie plate (whatever fits!) Arrange biscuits on top of filling, brush with cream and sprinkle with coconut sugar. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until filling is bubbling and biscuits are golden.

August 2, 2020September 28, 2020

Happy Fogust!

Hi Friends!

I love fogust. Hiking through Glen Canyon this time of year with the trailing little fog tendrils is the BEST. Not to mention – we did Twin Peaks this morning and it felt like hiking into the cloud layer, it was so foggy. Nice and humid – good for the skin, and to wake up – we literally rolled out of bed and into this hike. Not mad. Today’s included 10 pushups every mile for just under 6 mi – highly recommend.

Especially when there is galette waiting at home for breakfast! I love eating this with coffee. It’s literally the best of all possible worlds. I add barely any sweetener to it – only a sprinkle of coconut sugar at the end. It’s PERFECT for stone fruit season, which is peaking just about now it seems like – we’ll have great fruit for awhile yet, but it’s quite literally unbeatable at the current moment.

I was also lucky enough to get a shipment of a friend’s homemade apricot jam, yaaass!!!! I love having friends with fruit. I now have several jars of jam waiting in the wings – some of it went in here, to great effect – some of it will go on toast, I’m 1000% sure, and the rest, well…. we’ll just see ;)

As per usual, this did double duty last night for dessert and for breakfast with eggs+salad this morning – I am currently obsessed with trying rye in everything, just in case you hadn’t noticed. German rye bread is a fave of ours, and I find that rye works really well in a bunch of different dessert applications, especially when paired with fruit. It’s pretty subtle – more so than say, eating rye bread – the flavor is noticeable, but doesn’t smack you over the head with it.

Let’s see, what else.

Ooooh! The dahlias are INSANE right now, look! Just look at them! How incredible are these?! The mind boggles. I’m so lucky I live within walking distance to the Dahlia Garden in Golden Gate Park – I go over frequently to check on them.

On that note, happy Fogust! I hope you and yours had a relaxing weekend, hopefully involving dessert and summer fruit bounty.

Peach, Apricot & Blueberry Galette with a Rye Crust

Refined sugar free and whole grain. Peeerrrfect for late summer stone fruit bounty – use whatever looks good! Proportions will pretty much stay the same. There is barely any sweetener added – just a finishing sprinkle of coconut sugar – so make sure you fruit is nice and ripe. Yield: 1 galette, serves several.

for the crust:
3/4 c dark rye flour
1/2 c cornmeal
1/4 c almond flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
4oz/1 stick of unsalted butter, cubed
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond extract
2-3 tbsp ice water

In a food processor, pulse together rye flour, cornmeal, almond flour, and sea salt. Add in cubed butter and pulse until it resembled coarse sand. Add vanilla & almond extract, then the ice water 1 tbsp at a time until the dough starts to come together. Turn it out onto a board and knead it into a ball. Flatten slightly and stick it into the fridge while you cut up the fruit (can be refrigerated up to several days if you want to make it in advance).

For the fruit:

peaches, sliced (I used probably ~5)
heaping 1c blueberries
zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp tapioca starch

1/4 c apricot jam (preferably homemade by a friend ;)

In a large bowl, toss together sliced peaches, blueberries, lemon zest/juice, and tapioca.

Preheat the oven to 425. Roll out the dough between two pieces of parchment paper until it’s about 1/4″ thick. Spread the jam in a thin layer over the middle of the dough. Pile the fruit in the center, leaving a border of about 3″. Fold up the sides of the dough over the fruit. Brush the dough with an egg wash and sprinkle with a little coconut sugar. Dot fruit with butter if you like, though it’s not strictly necessary. Pop in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, until the crust is lightly browned. Remove to a cooling rack and let cool completely before slicing and serving. Store leftovers in the fridge overnight – it’s great for breakfast :)

June 28, 2020

fave human + birthday! + crumble

Hi friends!

Happy ever-so-slightly early birthday to my favorite human! We had some low key celebrations this weekend and so, there was crumble. Which at one point had candles in it and everything!

This crumble was a big hit all around – I’m a huge fan, since it’s pretty much available for everyone (gluten/grain free, dairy free/vegan, refined sugar free/paleo) and it really lets the summer fruit shine. It’s also infinitely adaptable for whatever looks most amazing at the market – I don’t discriminate when it comes to summer fruit, that is for SURE. Usually I can’t help myself and end up with too much! Luckily you can always bake with extra fruit, so none of it ever goes to waste. I’m a big fan of desserts that are fruit-forward (obviously, for anyone who has followed me for any short length of time can attest) – plus C and I really don’t do sweet, so this is perfect. He loved! As did I, so everyone wins.

We also did a fairly monster hike today, somewhere around 7.8 miles, including Mt. Davidson & Twin Peaks. Yay! Also, I’m pooped now because it’s late and it was SUPER windy – we were extremely buffeted about at the top of the peaks. Definitely entertaining, but also exhausting. Despite the fact that I had a coffee at 230, I am for sure fading.

Let’s see, what else.

Oh! I made some really boss carrot top-walnut-basil pesto this week, since my Imperfect produce box came with a gorgeous bunch of carrots. I absolutely love feeling like I’m using ALL of the food I buy!

A few fun shots from my walks lately… such pretty architecture, among other things.

I am headed up to camp to do some maintenance work this coming weekend, so expect a hiatus in posts :) Happy weekend! I hope it was well spent and enjoyed by all <3

Peach and Cherry Crumble with Walnuts and Ginger

Crumble for everyone! Gluten/grain free, dairy free/vegan, refined sugar free & paleo. Yay! Serves about 6, or fewer + leftovers. Highly recommended with ice cream or as is for breakfast. A Wait are those Cookies original.

For the crumble

1 c almond flour, packed
1 tbsp vanilla
1/4 tsp sea salt, heaping
1 tbsp maple
5 tbsp melted coconut oil
1/2 c chopped walnuts
1/4 c unsweetened coconut
3 tbsp black sesame
1/4 c crystalized ginger

5 peaches, sliced (I leave the skin on, but you do you)
~1 c bing cherries, pitted
2 tsp tapioca starch + 1/4 c water
1 tbsp maple
zest and juice of two limes

Preheat the oven to 350 and grab some kind of 8″ or 9” baking dish – this is the least fussy recipe ever, so square, round, etc – whatever you have is fine! I used an 8×8” deep baking dish that has a 2 quart capacity. In your baking dish of choice, toss together peaches, cherries, lime juice and zest. In a smaller bowl, whisk together tapioca starch & water, add maple, then pour over the prepared fruit. Bake for 20 minutes.

While the fruit is baking, make the crumble. In a large bowl, stir everything together: almond flour, vanilla, salt, maple, chopped walnuts and coconut, black sesame, and coconut oil together, then stir in crystallized ginger.

Remove the fruit from the oven, and toss a bit to redistribute. Drop the topping over the fruit, and bake for another 20 minutes until the top is lightly golden brown and the fruit is bubbly. Remove and let cool completely before serving. Excellent with ice cream! It’s also fabulous cold after being refrigerated overnight and served straight out of the fridge – highly recommended. Leftovers keep well covered in the fridge for a day or two but I dare you to have any ;)

June 22, 2020

never enough stone fruit

Summer stone fruit!! Is totally the best!! I loooove the market bounty right now: basically anything you pick up is going to be delicious, and shine in whatever context you put it in.

Galettes are one of my favorite blank canvases for fresh produce: they are fruit forward; the crust can be whatever you want it to be (grain free? sure! gluten free? absolutely. whole wheat & cornmeal? done. herbs? why not!) and nearly any fruit works. They also make an amazing breakfast as well as dessert. Not to mention, they’re supremely unfussy and relaxed.

This one highlights some great peaches I picked up at the market, plus some blueberries that were slightly less than stellar (baking them totally takes care of that), plus rosemary that had been hanging out in my fridge and needed to be used – I love love love rosemary in my desserts, so that was an easy sell for me; also I hate wasting food in any way so odds & ends tend to find their way into dessert.

It’s pretty indicative of my week/weekend/week that I started this post 48 hours ago and am just now finishing it…. HELLOOOO DEADLINES nice to see you. I definitely worked pretty much all weekend so dessert had to be fast, which this one was. It was a great mental break to bake while it was foggy out, early Saturday morning. That is my preferred baking time (though obviously I love to bake so any baking time is good baking time).

reality. baking + monitor with work on the other side

Very short today because I just finished 11+ marathon hours of interview prep for the project we’re shortlisted for, and I’m dead. But I couldn’t leave this undone, plus dinner is in the oven so I have some downtime for a minute before I go back to work.

I hope your week from here on out is smooth sailing! Do yourself a favor and make galette, you’ll seriously thank yourself later.

Peach & Blueberry Galette with a Rosemary Cornmeal Crust

Whole grain and refined sugar free. A rustic galette with a crunchy cornmeal crust – great for all that summer fruit bounty! Yield: 1 galette; serves several. A Wait are those Cookies original.

for the crust:
1 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c cornmeal
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp finely chopped rosemary
4oz (1 stick) of unsalted butter, cubed
1 tsp vanilla
2-3 tbsp ice water

In a food processor, pulse together whole wheat flour, cornmeal, sea salt & rosemary. Add in cubed butter and pulse until it resembled coarse sand. Add vanilla and ice water 1 tbsp at a time until the dough starts to come together. Turn it out onto a board and knead it into a ball. Flatten slightly and stick it into the fridge while you cut up the fruit (can be refrigerated up to several days if you want to make it in advance).

For the fruit:

4 peaches, sliced
1/2 c blueberries
2 tsp tapioca starch
1 tbsp maple

In a large bowl, toss together sliced peaches, blueberries, tapioca and maple.

Preheat the oven to 425. Roll out the dough between two pieces of parchment paper until it’s about 1/4″ thick. Pile the fruit in the center, leaving a border of about 3″. Fold up the sides of the dough over the fruit. Brush the dough with an egg wash and sprinkle with a little coconut sugar. Dot fruit with butter if you like, though it’s not strictly necessary. Pop in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, until the crust is lightly browned. Remove to a cooling rack and let cool completely before slicing and serving. Store leftovers in the fridge overnight – it’s great for breakfast :)

June 14, 2020

summer fruit + ice cream = match made in heaven

Hi internet friends!

I hope your weekend was everything it needed to be, whatever that looked like for you!

Mine was full of people who mean a lot to me – backyard bbq with C and his fam, our quaranpod; hiking with C this morning, and din with a close friend this evening – who also gave me a new plant friend and I’m SO EXCITED to welcome Frieda the Staghorn Fern to the Jungelow fam. Pictures forthcoming when it’s light outside :)

I’m sleepy at the moment so am keeping this brief. I had a productive baking weekend – a double batch of cookies for both the bbq and the din tonight (I used a bar of chopped dark mint chocolate in my usual fave cookie recipe – these – and omg cannot recommend enough, SO GOOD); plus I made this crumble!

It was a huge hit with the bbq crowd – and with me, for being infinitely adaptable, fast, and delicious. Not to mention it’s gluten (and easily grain) free, dairy free, refined sugar free, and vegan! Yippee, everyone wins. Super delicious with ice cream – obviously, as summer produce/stone fruit + ice cream are a match made in heaven. C had a little tiny bit leftover with our post-6mi-hike “breakfast” (eaten at 1.30, ha. surely coffee is adequate hiking fuel? I kid. We ate almonds too! And dark chocolate!) and it was a big hit. It keeps pretty well overnight, though the crumble gets a little soft, so I’d recommend eating it the day it’s made – not something you want to make super far in advance. I made mine in the morning & it was perfectly fine after dinner, just to give you a metric.

In other news, hike today was GORG – the views from Bernal were amazing; the air was so clear today.

I also ate my first figs of the season and enjoyed the hell out of them. Also this random, thrown together breakfast salad that I thought looked pretty in my skillet and also was delicious.

Yuck, tomorrow is Monday. Hopefully your reentry into the worklife isn’t too heinous. See you next weekend! <3

Nectarine & Cherry Crumble with Pecans & Ginger

This is stupid easy to throw together – it’s also gluten free (easily grain free, just swap out the oat flour for more almond), dairy free, vegan, and refined sugar free. A Wait are Those Cookies original! Perfect for a summer backyard bbq with your quarantine pod. Easily adaptable to whatever fruit looks good in the market – just grab enough to fill the pan you’re using.

For the crumble:
1/2c almond flour
1/4c oat flour*
Pinch of sea salt
~1/4c crystallized ginger, finely chopped
1/4c unsweetened shredded coconut
1 tbsp maple
2 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2c chopped pecans

*sub for an equal amount of almond flour for grain free

For the fruit filling:
~3c pitted cherries
4 small nectarines, sliced
Splash of vanilla
2 tsp tapioca starch whisked into 1/3c water
1 tbsp maple
Zest and juice of two limes

Preheat the oven to 350.
In a deep-ish baking dish (I used a 9″, deep pie plate but any deep dish will do – 9×9, 8×8, 2qt, small casserole, whatever) combine fruit, vanilla, tapioca + water, and lime juice + zest. Bake for 20 min, uncovered, while you prepare the crumble topping.

In a large bowl, stir together almond and oat flour, sea salt, ginger and coconut. Add in maple, vanilla, olive oil and chopped pecans, stirring until everything is incorporated – you want to keep some larger chunks for texture. Take the fruit out of the oven, add the crumble topping, and bake for another 25 minutes, when the fruit should be bubbling and the topping lightly browned. Remove and let cool before serving. Serve with ice cream, because summer fruit and ice cream are a match made in heaven! Keeps decently well in the fridge overnight but the crumble will get a bit soft (it’s still 100% delicious though)

June 7, 2020

summer is for stone fruit

Hi internet friends.

It’s been such a week… I don’t even know where to start with everything. I am doing my damndest to show up, learn, educate myself, listen, and give back – though somehow it doesn’t ever quite feel like enough. But I feel that the least I can do is continue to offer a place to inspire baked goods made with love, to send a little peace out into the world from my corner of the internet.

Today’s baked thing is a cobbler I made for the weekend, with perfect summer fruit and easy drop biscuit topping. It’s whole grain, refined sugar free, and very nearly lactose free – not to mention pretty infinitely adaptable: the flours are very flexible, if you only have one or the other OR decide you don’t want to use either (no judgement here, obviously); the fruit can be swapped around depending on what you have and what looks good in the market.

I’ve never really baked with white nectarines before but I can definitely recommend them – I left the skin on since I felt they might have a tendency to disintegrate. C looooved them – I caught him searching around in the dish a little to find more of them, ha! To be fair, I was on the lookout for extra ginger so it all worked out. This was great for dessert with ice cream and a Marvel movie, and def excellent for bfast this morning as well. No complaints.

Keeping it short today – there is a lot out there to absorb. I hope everyone is doing well – enjoying whatever weather you have and the gorgeous summer produce season!

Nectarine & Berry Cobbler with Whole Wheat, Oat and Ginger Biscuits

A Wait are those Cookies original. Yield: 1 8″ or 9″ cobbler, definitely serves several but also makes excellent breakfast leftovers (and/or just make it for breakfast instead). Fruity, summery & easy.

For the biscuits:

1c whole wheat pastry
1/2c oat flour
1 tbsp maple
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
3 tbsp unsalted butter, chilled & cut into chunks
3 tbsp ghee (or three more tbsp butter)
3/4 c whole milk plain Kefir (or buttermilk, or thinned out yogurt)
handful of crystallized ginger

For the filling:

~5 smallish white nectarines, sliced (I leave the skin on)
2 pints blackberries
1 pint blueberries
2 tsp tapioca starch
1/4 c water
1/2 tsp vanilla
pinch of sea salt

Preheat the oven to 350.

Combine sliced nectarines and berries in a deep 8×8″ pan (mine holds quarts) or a 9×9 dish, or a small casserole dish, OR a pie plate… basically whatever, as long as it’s deep 2 Mix together tapioca starch, water, vanilla and sea salt and pour everything over the fruit. Let sit while you prep the biscuit dough.

In a large bowl, whisk together both flours, baking powder & soda, salt, and cinnamon. Cut in the butter with your fingers until everything resembles coarse sand and there aren’t any big chunks left. Stir in the maple, kefir vanilla, and ginger pieces until just combined – be careful not to overmix, since nobody likes tough biscuits!

Drop evenly sized biscuit dough blobs onto the fruit, sprinkle with a little coconut sugar, and bake for 35-40 min, until the biscuits are lightly browned and the fruit is bubbling.

Serve with ice cream! Duh. Or eat it for breakfast. Keeps well overnight in the fridge, in its dish covered with foil.

view from above. note the empty coffee cup…

May 30, 2020May 30, 2020

easy breezy weekend crisp

Hi friends!

I didn’t work this weekend, yippee! In fact, my boss gave me Friday off to make up for working memorial weekend, so that was delightful. This weekend has been extra restful, at least mentally – several long city hikes mean that my legs are fried.

Here is a crisp for you! I have to say, this makes AMAZING breakfast. Maybe just skip the whole ‘make this for dessert’ thing and go right to breakfast? It’s really just whole grains + healthy fats + a boatload of fruit. So… breakfast! Add some coffee and you’re set. (Do you like coffee? … um, only with my oxygen –> story of my life)

We ate this for bfast (okay okay it was more like brunch) while watching the SpaceX launch! So coooool.

Great hike today with a little ladybug friend who made an appearance on C’s shoulder! So cute.

I repotted some plant beebs who needed new homes & were getting scraggly… and am fighting the battle of the fungus gnats (ew sorry maybe that’s not the most appealing thing in a food blog..? you love me. it’s okay) in two of my plants so they got castile soap baths today. Stupid gnats. GET OUUUUTTT.

Anyway. Back to food.

Highly recommend this crisp biz – you can make it in about 10 minutes and it’s stupid delicious. And so adaptable! Any nut is good here – walnut / pecan / almond / even macadamia nuts would be good I think…. and the ginger, while super duper delicious, is totally optional. Apricots are really delicious right now, so I’d definitely pick those up if you can… I feel as though they have a bit of a short season for perfection. I took a bit of a chance on the cherries but they were ALSO amazing, so… get after it! Stone fruit season is off to a great start.

Happy weekending!

Apricot & Cherry Pecan Ginger Crisp

~2c fresh apricots, sliced
1c pitted fresh cherries
2 tsp tapioca starch
1 tbsp maple
1/4 c water
2 tsp vanilla

1 cup old-fashioned oats (use certified gluten-free oats for a gluten-free crisp)
½ cup firmly packed almond meal
½ cup chopped pecans
a handful of crystalized ginger, chopped
1/4 c unsweetened shredded coconut
2 tbsp maple syrup
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 tbsp plain whole milk Greek yogurt

Preheat the oven to 350.
Toss apricots & cherries into your baking dish of choice (my dish is 8×8, 2 qt capacity; 9″ square or 9″ deep pie dish would also be fine). In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together the maple and water until combined. Add the tapioca starch, and whisk to combine. Pour the mixture over the fruit and toss to combine. Bake for 20 minutes.

While the filling is baking, make the crisp. In a mixing bowl, stir together the oats, almond meal, chopped pecans, ginger, shredded coconut, maple, and salt. Mix in the vanilla, melted butter and the yogurt. Stir until everything is mixed thoroughly.

Once the filling has baked for 20 minutes, stir it and and redistribute evenly in the dish. Plop spoonfuls of the crisp topping evenly over the filling – no need to pack it down. Return the dish to the oven and bake for 25 to 30 more minutes, until the filling is bubbling around the edges and the top is golden.

Let the crisp rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Serve with vanilla ice cream, obviously! Keep leftovers, covered, in the fridge for 2-3 days (yeah right – would take some major feat to make it last more than overnight..)

August 5, 2017August 22, 2018

Swampy Pandowdy. Need I say more?!

Can I just say that I’ve recently discovered swamp pie, and I will never be the same again.

Sometimes, the messiest food is by far the best food, and the less-aesthetic desserts are actually the tastiest. And sometimes, they have ridiculous names and it just gets better and better!

Ugly and strange sounding, but delicious. I promise. Would I lead you wrong in the dessert department? I think not.

Let’s talk verbiage for a minute…

Swamp.

Best word ever. And also, hilarious (and slightly unappealing I suppose, if you’re normal… unlike me) connotations when we’re talking about food. Side note, I was Bride of Swamp Thing for Halloween one year, and I think it might be one of my more inspired costumes to date.

Typically, it’s pies that are swamped (i.e. have cream poured into them so not only are you getting pie, but you’re also getting this delicious mash up of cream and custard and pie and all the goodness, all at once), but since I’d never made a pandowdy, I decided to swamp that instead.

Swampy pandowdy.

What a great combination of words!!! Swampy pandowdy. Which sounds potentially unappealing but I promise it isn’t.

Pandowdies are basically pie’s less fussy cousin. Or maybe they could be considered pie’s artsy, bohemian cousin who comes to visit once a year, bakes, does art things and wears colorful, ridiculous jewelry and lots of scarves and… omg that’s me! I’ve apparently found my spirit food. Or food totem? As in, if I was a food, I’d be a pandowdy. Low maintenance, boho weirdo… that sounds about right. Actually, I’d probably be a swampy pandowdy because that’s even weirder and more awesome. But, y’all like me for my weirdness, right?! So it’s fine. I’m at peace with having my spirit food be a swampy pandowdy.

Though the origin of the word is technically unknown, I’ve read the theory is that pandowdies apparently get their name from “dowdy-ing” its looks by mucking up the crust. I just enjoy playing with my food, so you’re not going to hear any complaints from this corner.

AND THEN not only that, but you get to pour a bunch of cream in there, which is an experiment in and of itself if/when you realize you don’t actually own a funnel, and careful pouring is going to have to do.

It’s fun! It’s delicious and makes great dessert and breakfast (especially breakfast). And there are great words involved…

Happy pandowdy-ing!

Cherry, Peach and Raspberry Swampy Pandowdy

Refined sugar free, lightly sweet, whole grain, and perfect for the late summer stone fruit season! I’m all over the stone fruit lately… Pandowdies are like pies, only way less fussy and much more messy and fun. They’re kind of like pie’s artistic, bohemian cousin (that’ll be me, later in life… oh wait. It probably already is) – only a top crust, and you get to mess it up and play with your food! Besides that, I love love love cream, so what better excuse to eat some than to flood your pie? Swamp pies are a thing. Also, I love the name. Pandowdy crust lightly adapted from Food52, here and the swamp business is adapted also from Food52, here! I didn’t do much to the crust, the recipe was pretty much perfect as is. Yield: 1 9″ pandowdy, serves… several. 2 if you eat it for breakfast too ;)

For the crust:

1.25 c whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 c cornmeal
1 tsp sea salt
zest of 1 meyer lemon
9 tbsp unsalted butter, cubed into small pieces
3-5 tbsp ice water

Add whole wheat flour, cornmeal, sea salt, and lemon zest to a large bowl and stir to combine. Add in butter, toss to coat, and use your fingers or a pastry cutter to cut in the butter until a coarse mixture forms and the butter chunks are the size of peas (I prefer to use my fingers for this since I a) like the feeling of having my hands in flour and b) have greater control over butter-chunk sizing). Add ice water 1 tbsp at a time until the dough just begins to hold together when pinched between two fingers. It’ll look a little crumbly, but that’s fine.

Toss the dough out onto a clean counter or wax paper (I prefer the counter method; less fuss), and use a bench scraper to gather the dough into a rough rectangle. Using the heel of your hand, smear the last fourth of dough away from you, against the counter. Repeat until you smear all the dough (see? playing with your food!), then gather the dough back into a rectangle and repeat, smearing it all away from you. The dough should be cohesive by this point, so gather it up into a disc, wrap in plastic, and stick it in the fridge for at least an hour, or up to overnight.

For the filling:

3 c cherries (mine were Bing cherries; I think Ranier would be awesome here too)
2 c peaches, sliced
1.5 c raspberries*
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp arrowroot starch
1 tbsp meyer lemon juice
scant 1/4 c maple syrup
egg white & 1 tbsp coconut sugar for glaze
1 egg yolk
3/4 c heavy cream

*I used some that had been frozen; if you do as well, bake them straight from frozen instead of letting them thaw beforehand

In a large bowl, combine the cherries, peaches and raspberries. Add vanilla, arrowroot, lemon juice, and maple, and toss to combine. Pour all this goodness into your pie plate or skillet of choice – 9″ pie plates are fine as long as they’re the deeper variety; a 10″ cast iron skillet would also work well.

Preheat the oven to 400. Once the dough has chilled, roll it out to be roughly circular (no need to be perfect here, like I said – pandowdies are pie’s unfussy cousin), and lift the dough onto the fruit. Tuck in the edges, leaving a rim of dough between the edge of the pie dish and the fruit – I crimped mine because I’m an overachiever and I also had extra dough, but no need to do that. Make a few slits for steam to vent, brush the top with egg white and dust with coconut sugar. Pop the whole beautiful thing into the oven for 40 minutes; best if you line the rack beneath with foil or a large baking sheet – the juices runneth over! In a liquid measuring cup with a spout, measure the cream and let it sit at room temp.

Once you hit the 40 minute mark, take the pandowdy out, and use a sharp knife to break up the crust, thus ‘dowdy-ing’ its looks (now begins the really fun part). Carefully pour the cream into the new breaks in the crust, filling each – some of the cream will pool under the crust, and some will sneak out on top, which is fine. Just be careful not to drown the whole crust! Go slow, and fill each vent/break. Stick the pandowdy back in the oven, and bake for another 10 minutes, until the cream is just set and barely jiggles in the center. Let cool completely before serving; it will be gloriously juicy and delicious so might I suggest serving it in bowls? Ice cream is… optional, sort of, if you’re out of cream; otherwise, this can be served even swampier with extra cream poured over the top. You do you!

Store any leftovers (who are you) covered in the fridge, but make sure to save some for breakfast. You’ll thank me later!

July 27, 2017

Living the stone fruit life

Can’t stop, won’t stop with the stone fruit! I love mid to late summer for that reason – peaches, pluots (personal fave), nectarines, apricots… the list goes on and on and on. It’s definitely worth it to brave the oven heat and do some summer baking when there is stone fruit involved.

A food nerd fun fact for you! Did you know that peaches and almonds are related? What we think of as almond nuts are actually the hard-shelled fruit of the almond tree, which is in the prunus family (we’re getting real food-nerdy up in here). That’s the same family that also includes most stone fruit-producing trees and shrubs, like peaches, cherries, plums, and nectarines! Food is so cool.

Not only is it awesome that almonds and peaches are fam, but they also are a taste pair made in heaven. Throw in some apricots and meyer lemon zest and have yourself a party – I always taste things when I’m cooking, but very rarely do I actually say out loud to myself, “DAMN that’s good!!”… however, in the making of this meyer lemon and almond frangipane, that is exactly what I did.

Barefoot in my kitchen at 6 am (because as we’ve previously discussed, I often end up baking early not only because of time constraints the rest of the day, but also because I love it for its quietude and peaceful mindfulness), I taste-tested the frangipane to determine if I had the right balance between lemon and almond and practically yelled, “OMG THIS IS DELICIOUS!” Not to toot my own horn, or anything, ha! Sometimes I surprise even myself.

Apricots lend themselves especially well to baking – unlike most other stone fruit that can be eaten out of hand over the sink, I’m less partial to snacking on apricots. BUT – when you bake them, they take on greater flavor and are just delicious; even if they’re not perfectly ripe when you use them.

Refined sugar free, grain free, gluten free, paleo depending on your definition (I have some paleo friends who eat butter, some who don’t, so you do you!) – a heap of summer stone fruit, fragrant meyer lemon and almond, and a kitchen that smells amazing. What’s not to love?

Apricot and Peach Galette with Meyer Lemon Almond Frangipane

A Wait are Those Cookies original! Adapted from my Rhubarb Frangipane tart, here. Grain free, gluten free, refined sugar free and possibly paleo, depending on your definition. Definitely delicious, perfect for the late summer glut of stone fruit. Yield: 1 galette, serves… 2. For dessert & breakfast, duh. Just kidding – probably serves 4 to 5.

For the galette dough:

1.5 c almond flour (not meal; you want the finer flour variety)
1/2 c tapioca flour
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
6 tbsp salted butter, chopped
1 egg
zest of 2 meyer lemons (or regular lemons)
1 tbsp vanilla extract

In a food processor or high-power blender (I used a food processor), pulse almond flour, tapioca starch, salt, and butter to combine until it looks like coarse meal. Add in egg, lemon zest, and vanilla extract and pulse just until combined. Turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap, shape into a disk and chill in the fridge for at least an hour, or up to overnight.

For the frangipane:

1/2 c almond flour
1/4 c maple syrup
zest of 2 meyer lemons
1 tbsp meyer lemon juice
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/3 c roasted unsalted almond butter

In a food processor, combine almond flour, maple, and lemon zest. Pulse once to combine. Add in lemon juice, eggs, vanilla and almond extract, and pulse once or twice, until combined. Add in almond butter, and blend again until smooth. If the frangipane seems too sticky, add 1-2 tbsp of maple to loosen it; if it’s too loose, add a few tbsp of almond flour. Can be made ahead and refrigerated overnight.

Assembly:

2 large peaches, sliced
6 apricots, sliced
3 tbsp tapioca starch
zest of one meyer lemon
1 tsp vanilla
1.5 tbsp butter
beaten egg, for egg wash
2 tsp coconut sugar for sprinkling

Once the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 375. In a large bowl, toss peaches and apricots with tapioca starch and lemon zest, and vanilla and set aside momentarily.

Roll out the dough between two pieces of parchment paper, keeping the circle to about 1/4″ thickness. Peel off the top piece of parchment, and slide the rolled out dough on its parchment onto a baking sheet. Top with the frangipane, spreading it carefully in order to not rip or crack the dough.

Add sliced peaches & apricots, in whatever pattern you like! Begin folding up the sides, creasing them together as you go – if the dough is cracking, that’s okay (you can crimp the cracks back together; remember: galettes are forgiving and rustic!); you can use the bottom piece of parchment to help fold up the sides. Brush the edges of the dough with the beaten egg and sprinkle a little coconut sugar around the sides. Dot with butter. Bake for 35-40 minutes until edges are golden brown — mine came out just fine at 37 minutes, so check accordingly. Let cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet, then carefully slide the whole galette onto a cooling rack to let it cool completely (it’s fine to leave it on the parchment paper on the cooling rack, I don’t find that it makes it soggy). Serve with your fave ice cream or whatever of choice! Keeps well covered in foil on the counter for a day or in the fridge overnight; mine didn’t last longer than about 2 days so I can vouch for it at least that long!