Peach Amaretti Crisp A Family Feast Recipes

PEACH AND AMARETTI CRISP

Steps:

• Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and lay a sheet of aluminum foil on the rack below to catch drippings. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• To make the filling:
• Mix the peach slices with the granulated sugar, flour, and vanilla or almond extract. Transfer the peaches to a shallow 2-quart baking dish.
• To make the topping:
• In a food processor, pulse together the flour, the brown and granulated sugars, amaretti, and cinnamon until the amaretti are in very small bits. Add the almonds and pulse until the nuts are in small pieces.
• Add the pieces of butter and pulse until the butter is finely broken up.Continue to pulse until the topping no longer looks sandy and is just beginning to hold together.
• Distribute the amaretti topping evenly over the peaches and bake the crisp for 40 to 50 minutes, until the edges are bubbling and a knife inserted into the center pierces the fruit easily.
• Serving:
• Serve warm with a cold pitcher of heavy cream or with vanilla ice cream.
• Variation:
• For a berry crisp, toss 6 to 8 cups mixed berries (quartered strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries) with 1/3 cup sugar, 2tablespoons flour, and a squirt of lemon juice. Cover with just enough topping to hide the fruit and freeze the rest.

PEACHES STUFFED WITH AMARETTI COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter the bottom of an 8-inch baking dish and set aside.
• Using a melon baller, clean out the red flesh from the center of each peach. Arrange the peaches cut side up in the prepared dish. In the bowl of a food processor, add the amaretti cookies and pulse until finely crumbled. Divide the amaretti crumbs between the peaches. Fill the center of each peach with the amaretti cookie crumbs. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of sugar over each. Dot each peach with 1/2 teaspoon of butter.
• Bake until the peaches are tender and the filling is crisp on top, about 30 minutes. Serve warm with whipped cream.

PEACH-AMARETTI CRISP

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
• To make the filling, peel, pit, and cut the peaches into 1/2-inch (1.5-cm) slices. In a large bowl, toss the peaches with the 2 tablespoons (30 g) granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon flour, and vanilla or almond extract. Transfer the peaches to a shallow 2-quart (2-liter) baking dish. Set aside.
• To make the topping, in a food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulse together the 3/4 cup (110 g) flour, 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar, brown sugar, amaretti crumbs, cinnamon, and almonds until the almonds are in small bits but with chunks still visible. Add the chilled butter pieces and pulse until the topping no longer looks sandy and is just beginning to hold together.
• Distribute the topping evenly over the peaches. Bake until the filling is bubbling around the edges and a sharp paring knife inserted into the center of the cobbler meets no resistance, 40 to 50 minutes.
• Serve warm or at room temperature with Vanilla Ice Cream (page 143) or just a pour of fresh, cold cream.
• For a MIXED BERRY CRSIP, make the filling using 6 cups (1 3/4 pounds/795 g) mixed berries (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and quartered strawberries) with 1/3 cup (65 g) granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons (15 g) all-purpose flour, and 2 teaspoons kirsch or lemon juice.
• If using store-bought amaretti, which are usually tiny, you'll need a few more than indicated in the recipe to make the right amount of crumbs.
• Have a sheet of aluminum foil on the lower rack of the oven during baking to catch any overflow of fruit juices.

PEACH-AMARETTI BRUSCHETTA

Steps:

• Thinly slice a baguette; arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Brush with softened butter and sprinkle with salt and sugar. Bake at 425 degrees F until lightly golden, about 7 minutes. Let cool slightly.
• Spread softened butter on the toast rounds. Top with peach preserves and crushed amaretti cookies.

ROASTED PEACHES WITH AMARETTI CRUMBLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 11 x 7 x 2- inch glass baking dish. Combine cookies, almonds, flour, and sugar in processor. Using on/off turns, process until cookies and almonds are coarsely chopped. Add 3 tablespoons chilled butter to processor. Using on/off turns, process topping mixture until moist clumps form.
• Place peach halves, cut side up, in prepared dish. Spread topping over surface of each peach half (about 1 generous tablespoon for each), pressing lightly to adhere and leaving 1/4-inch plain border.
• Bake peaches until tender when pierced with knife and topping is golden brown, about 35 minutes. Cool slightly. Transfer 1 warm roasted peach half to each of 6 plates. Serve with scoop of vanilla ice cream alongside.
• Available at some supermarkets and at Italian markets.

ITALIAN STYLE AMARETTO-PEACH CRISP

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Arrange the peach slices in an 8x8-inch pan or a gratin dish. (NOTE: If you are using frozen peaches, you don't need to defrost them first, but you do need to separate them.) Sprinkle with lemon zest, lemon juice, and Amaretto, if desired.
• Place the amaretti in a food processor and grind into crumbs with a few short bursts. Add the almonds during the last burst or two, so they get broken up but not finely ground. Stir in the optional sugar, if desired. (If you are in need of a little exercise, you can bypass the food processor. Put the cookies in a plastic bag and whack them mercilessly with a rolling pin. Add the almonds and optional sugar, and shake well.)(NOTE: I skip this step. Instead, I just add the cookies to the butter mixture (the cookies will soften in the melted butter/liquids). Mix and crush with a wooden spoon).
• Transfer the cookie mixture to a bowl, pour in the melted butter, and mix with a fork until well combined. Sprinkle the topping over the peaches, patting it into place.
• Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden. Serve warm, at room temperature, or cold, plain or `a la mode.