Baked Peach Dessert

I picked up some peaches in our CSA box from the farmers' market about a month ago, when Mike was out of town on a business trip. The peaches were the best of the summer—very sweet and juicy. Since I was afraid they would start going bad if I kept them around until Mike returned home, I decided to incorporate them into this dessert. I froze some of it so that Mike could try it at some point later.

To easily remove the skin, use tongs to grip the peaches and swirl them around in boiling water for about 10 seconds. Then dip them in ice water. The skins should peel off easily. I skipped the ice water part, and the skin still came off fairly easily.

Ingredients

• 6 pitted peaches, skins removed and sliced
• 1/2 tablespoon tapioca
• 1/2 to 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 to 3 tablespoons almond meal
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/4 cup toasted pecans, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°.
2. Put the peaches in a bowl, and mix in the tapioca and honey. Let it sit for about 10 minutes.
3. In a small bowl, make the topping: Mix the almond meal and oil, and then mix in the pecans.
4. Put the peaches in a pie pan or other baking dish. I used a 9 X 5 inch glass loaf pan.
5. Spread the topping evenly over the peaches, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the mixture is bubbling and the topping is slightly browned.

She said

Fresh fruit is such a wonderful ingredient in desserts, especially if the fruit is very flavorful to start.

Feel free to change this up a bit, depending on your preferences. For example, add a bit more or less of honey, depending on the sweetness of fruit. Consider adding some ground cinnamon or nutmeg to the topping to round out the flavor. Although you can replace the pecans with other nuts, don't skip the nuts altogether. They add such a nice crunch to this dessert.

He said

I finally got to try this a few weeks later, after reheating it from the freezer. And I have to say it kept really well. The texture of the fruit is exactly what I would expect of a peach cobbler. The almond meal makes for a really nifty additional flavor, however I do miss the sugary buttery crunch explosion of a more traditional crumble top.