Hello, foodies…
Since I see you Saturday and Sunday, my weekend usually falls on Monday and Tuesday. So today, I slept till 9. It was WONDERFUL. Then, I came into QVC for a quick health screening and have been doing more cookbook writing for the past few hours. I’m headed the gym in few minutes, but I wanted to get my blog in before I left!
Guess what’s on the menu this Wednesday night, foodies? We’re making my Peach Praline Dumplings with Sweet Cream. Imagine an apple dumpling, except the apple is replaced with a fresh, ripe, juicy peach and stuffed with pecans, brown sugar, and a hint of vanilla. The sweet cream is just the perfect finishing touch. If you’re not hungry enough thinking about it, wait till you see the step-by-step photos! First, though, the recipe.
Peach Praline Dumplings with Sweet Cream
This recipe is prepared with the Prepology® 4-Piece Nonstick Knife Set with 4 Cutting Mats (K35540).
Go to David's Recipe Item Page for the full list of items that David has used in his recipes.
Ingredients:
Stuffing:
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1 cup toasted pecans, finely chopped
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 oz butter, melted
Dumplings:
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tbsp water
• 2 frozen puff pastry sheets
• 8 ripe peaches
• 3 Tbsp sugar
Sweet Cream:
• 1 pint heavy cream
• 1 cup sugar
Directions:
1. To prepare the stuffing, place the sugar, brown sugar, and chopped pecans into a medium-size bowl. Toss the ingredients to distribute evenly. Add in the vanilla and melted butter and mix until well-combined. Set aside.
2. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and place a wire cooling rack on top. Lightly coat the paper and rack with cooking spray. Set aside.
3. Cut the peaches in half, remove the pit, and carefully remove some of the center flesh to create a small pocket. Spoon the praline stuffing into the cavity of each peach half and then pair the halves back together to form a whole peach. Set aside.
4. Whisk the eggs and 2 Tbsp of water in a small bowl. Set aside.
5. On a lightly floured surface, roll each puff pastry sheet out until it measures a 12" x 12" square. Cut each puff pastry sheet into four 6" x 6" squares, yielding a total of eight squares with both sheets combined.
6. Place a stuffed peach in the center of each square. Moisten the corners with a small amount of egg wash. Bring two opposite corners of dough up over the peach and press the corners together. Repeat with the two remaining sides. Do not discard the egg wash. Place the peach dumplings onto the prepared cookie sheet and freeze for 15–20 minutes.
7. Move an oven rack towards the lower-middle part of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F. Remove the dumplings from the freezer. Deeply poke the bottom of each dumpling twice in a cross shape. (Be sure to insert the fork all the way through the dough and through part of the peach.) Brush each dumpling with the remaining egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 30–40 minutes, or until golden brown and fork tender.
8. While the dumplings are baking, mix up the sweet cream. Fit your stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Pour the cream into the bowl and whip until soft peaks form. Then, add the sugar and then whip until stiff.
9. Allow the dumplings to cool slightly before serving with the sweet cream.
Now, here's how this looks in photos, foodies...
Combine the sugar, brown sugar, and chopped pecans and toss well.
Add in the vanilla and melted butter and mix until well-combined. Set aside.
Foodies, we test and re-test our recipes to ensure they’re spot-on before giving them to you. After we photographed this recipe, it became clear that not only did we need a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper (and sprayed with cooking spray), but we also needed a wire cooling rack on top, as the juice from our peaches made the dough soggy. So don’t forget the rack!
Cut the peaches in half, remove the pit, and carefully remove some of the center flesh to create a small pocket for the filling.
Spoon the praline stuffing into the cavity of each peach half and then pair the halves back together to form a whole peach. Set aside.
Whisk the eggs and 2 Tbsp of water in a small bowl. Set aside. (This is your egg wash, which will make those dumplings a beautiful golden brown.)
On a lightly floured surface, roll each puff pastry sheet out until it measures a 12" x 12" square.
Cut each puff pastry sheet into four 6" x 6" squares, yielding a total of eight squares with both sheets combined.
Place a stuffed peach in the center of each square. Moisten the corners with a small amount of egg wash. (Keep any remaining wash—you’ll need it later.)
Bring two opposite corners of dough up over the peach and press the corners together. Repeat with the two remaining sides. Make the rest of the dumplings.
Place the peach dumplings onto the prepared cookie sheet (remember—they should be on top of the cooling rack). And, freeze for 15–20 minutes.
Move an oven rack towards the lower-middle part of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F. Remove the dumplings from the freezer.
(This part isn’t photographed, but you’ll need to deeply poke the bottom of each dumpling twice in a cross shape. Be sure to insert the fork all the way through the dough and through part of the peach.)
Then, brush each dumpling with the remaining egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake for 30–40 minutes, or until golden brown and fork tender. While the dumplings are baking, mix up the sweet cream. Fit your stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Pour the cream into the bowl and whip until soft peaks form. Then, add the sugar and then whip until stiff.
Voila! Before you ask, yes. This is as delicious as it looks. Feel free to skip the sweet cream if you have vanilla ice cream or whipped cream on hand.
Before you rush out for fresh peaches, here's today's blog question: Since we're talking about peaches, tell me about your best peach recipes. Do you make a great peach cobbler? Peach pie? How about peach jam? I'll see you Wednesday at 8pm ET. Now, off to the store with you!
Keep it flavorful!
--David
