Peach Shortbread

It's glorious peach season and although I don't think there is a better way to eat a perfectly ripe peach than straight off the tree, thin slices of peaches sandwiched between a buttery shortbread and a crumble is definitely not a bad thing.

Peach Shortbread

1 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup cold butter

1 large egg

2 peaches, pitted and thinly sliced (between 1/8 and 1/4-inch thick)

Brown your butter: Melt butter in a small/medium saucepan over medium-low heat.  It will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty.  Stir frequently, scraping up any bits form the bottom as you do.  Keep your eyes on it; it burns very quickly after it browns.  Set it in the freezer until solid (about 30 minutes). 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Butter a 9x13 pan, or spray it with a nonstick spray.  In a medium bowl, stir together sugar, baking powder, flour, salt and spices with a whisk.  Use a pastry blender, fork or your fingertips, blend the solidified brown butter and egg into the flour mixture.  It will be crumbly.  Pat 3/4 of the crumbs into the bottom of the prepared pan, pressing firmly.  Tile peach slices over crumb base in a single layer.  Scatter remaining crumbs evenly over peaches and bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, until top is slightly brown and you can see a little color around the edges.  Cool completely in pan before cutting into squares. 

*The recipe says to cut the peaches 1/8-1/4-inch thick.  Next time, I would cut the peaches thicker so that I could taste the peach a bit more.

Adapted slightly from Smitten Kitchen