16 COOK’S COUNTRY • JUNE/JULY 2019
FRUIT DUMPLINGS HAD their
heyday in 19th-century America.
Back then, peach versions of the
dessert were made by wrapping
peach slices or halves in tender
pastry dough and baking or boil-
ing them, sometimes swaddled in
cheesecloth, in a sweetened syrup.
Since then, recipes for peach
dumplings have evolved. When I
made six existing recipes for my
team, we were most drawn to one
from Ree Drummond, aka The
Pioneer Woman. Her version leans
toward the traditional: peaches
wrapped in dough and cooked in
syrup. Her recipe calls for wrapping
frozen peach slices in store-bought
crescent roll dough. She then bakes
the dumplings in a syrup of sugar,
butter, and—wait for it—half a can
of lemon-lime soda. It’s an inno-
vative idea that produces tender
dumplings, jammy fruit, and a thick,
sweet syrup. I wanted to hit some
of the same notes using homemade
dough and no soft drinks.
I started by cutting two large fresh
peaches into wedges. I wrapped the
wedges in triangles of homemade
pie dough and laid them snugly in
an 8-inch square baking pan. I then
quickly cooked a syrup of butter,
sugar, and lemon juice to pour over
the dumplings before baking them.
While the general construction
was what I wanted, the dough wasn’t
as tender as I’d hoped and the dish
was lacking peach flavor. For my
next test, I blended
slices from half a peach
into the syrup. It
helped, but the flavor
got even better when I
added ½ cup of peach
preserves. This
concentrated product
amplified the peach
flavor and helped
create a thicker, more
luscious sauce.
Turning to the dough, I explored
the test kitchen archives for options
that would produce the light, tender
dumplings I wanted. The pie and
biscuit doughs I tried were not
designed to be used in such a wet
application; they baked up dense
and doughy. And making a yeasted
crescent dough from scratch was just
too much work.
Peaches, dough, and sweet syrup: Sometimes simple is the most satisfying.To form a
dumpling,
simply roll a
peach slice in
a triangle of
dough.Cut dough into 12 triangles.Peach
Dumplings
One coworker suggested the dough
from our Chicken and Pastry recipe.
This dough is made by stirring together
milk, melted butter, flour, salt, and bak-
ing powder. The significant 2 teaspoons
of baking powder in the dough helps
it puff into tender, fluffy noodles as it
cooks. While the dough was
from a savory recipe, I was
intrigued by the fact that it
was designed to cook in liq-
uid. So I added a tablespoon
of sugar to the recipe to
bring it into dessert terri-
tory, rolled it out, assembled
my dumplings, and baked.
My dumplings had that
excellent mix of soft texture,
buttery flavor, and bright
peachiness. Tasters approved.
While peach season is one of my
favorite times of the year, it doesn’t
last forever. So to find an alternative
that could work all year round, I tried
frozen peaches. I found that as long as I
picked out the thickest slices to wrap in
the dumplings and blended the thinner
slices into the sauce, the dessert was just
as good.PEACH DUMPLINGS Serves 6 to 8
We developed this recipe using a metal
baking pan. If using a glass or ceramic
baking dish, increase the baking time by
10 minutes in step 6. Serve with vanilla
ice cream or whipped cream, if desired.DOUGH
1½ cups (7½ ounces) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
½ cup whole milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, meltedPEACHES AND SAUCE
2 large fresh peaches, peeled, halved,
pitted, and each half cut into 4 equal
wedges, or 10 ounces frozen sliced
peaches, divided
¾ cup water
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into
6 pieces
1⁄3 cup (21⁄3 ounces) plus 1 teaspoon
sugar, divided
Pinch salt
½ cup peach preserves
1 tablespoon lemon juice
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon- FOR THE DOUGH: Adjust oven
rack to middle position and heat oven
to 350 degrees. Combine flour, sugar,
baking powder, and salt in large bowl.
Combine milk and melted butter in
second bowl (butter may form clumps).
Using rubber spatula, stir milk mixture
into flour mixture until just incorporat-
ed. Turn out dough onto lightly floured
counter and knead until no streaks of
flour remain, about 1 minute. Return
dough to large bowl, cover with plastic
wrap, and set aside. - FOR THE PEACHES AND
SAUCE: Set aside 12 peach slices. (If
using frozen peaches, select 12 largest
slices and freeze until ready to use.) - Combine water, butter, ⅓ cup sugar,
salt, and remaining 4 peach slices in
medium saucepan. Bring to simmer over
medium-high heat and cook, stirring
occasionally, until butter is melted and
sugar is dissolved (and frozen peaches
are thawed). Remove from heat and let
cool for 5 minutes. Transfer peach mix-
ture to blender, add peach preserves and
lemon juice, and process until smooth,
about 30 seconds. Set aside peach sauce. - Roll dough into 12-inch square,
about ⅛ inch thick. Using pizza cutter
or chef’s knife, trim away and discard
outer ½-inch edges of dough to make
neat square. Cut dough in half. Working
with 1 dough half at a time, cut crosswise
into 3 equal rectangles, then cut each
rectangle diagonally to create triangles.
Repeat with second dough half. (You
should have 12 triangles.) - Working with 1 dough triangle at
a time, place 1 reserved peach slice on
wide end of triangle. Roll dough around
peach slice and transfer dumpling, seam
side down, to 8-inch square baking pan.
Repeat with remaining dough triangles
and peach slices, staggering dumplings
in 3 rows of 4 (dumplings will touch;
this is OK). - Pour peach sauce over dumplings in
pan. Combine cinnamon and remaining
1 teaspoon sugar in small bowl. Sprinkle
dumplings with cinnamon sugar. Bake
until dumplings are golden on top and
syrup is bubbling in center of pan, about
45 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes
before serving.
It’s time for a simple,
sweet, summery
dessert. by Morgan Bolling
Illustration:^ Traci^ Daberko