By Ellen Gray

White peaches tend to be less fuzzy than their yellow counterparts. You can make these without peeling, if you don’t mind eating the skin. Peeled peaches are slippery making it a bit trickier (but certainly do-able) to maneuver the dough around the fruit. Either way, seek out freestone. Peel (or not) the peaches, halve them from stem to stern and give them a gentle twist. If they are stubborn, use a small paring knife to carefully ease them apart. White peaches are delicate creatures and tend to bruise easily. You can also use the knife to help release the pit from the fruit, if necessary.

Inspired by Jessie’s shortcake and biscuits from James Beard and Paul Prudhomme. 

White Peaches Wrapped in Cream Biscuits

Peaches

• 6 medium freestone white peaches, rinsed, peeled, halved and pitted
• ⅛ cup brown sugar combined with 1 tablespoon of finely diced candied ginger

Biscuit Dough

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 1 to 1½ cups heavy cream
• egg wash made from one egg yolk and 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• coarse sanding sugar for sprinkling

White Peaches Wrapped in Cream Biscuit Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, sugar and orange zest. Gradually add 1 cup of cream to the dry ingredients, using a fork to gently stir the mixture into a soft dough. If it feels dry, add just enough additional cream to make the dough hold together.  
2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured sheet of parchment and gently pat or roll the biscuit dough into an ⅛” thickness. Cut out six 6” circles (you may have to patch the dough here and there to squeeze out the last circle), cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate while preparing the peaches.
3. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
4. Retrieve the biscuit circles from the refrigerator. Place 1 teaspoon of the brown sugar/candied ginger mixture in the cavity of each peach. Place the two halves back together and stand one peach in the center of one circle of dough. Brush just the edges of the dough with a bit of the egg wash. Bring the sides up and around the peach, wrapping it completely and pressing the edges together to seal. Set each dough-wrapped peach into a lightly greased muffin tin. Brush the pastry with additional egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sanding sugar. Poke the top of the pastry with a fork or a knife, allowing steam to escape. Set the muffin tin on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake in the middle of a pre-heated 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. The peach should test done with the tip of a knife and the pastry should be golden. Delicious served with heavy pouring cream. Whipped cream isn’t half bad, either.

1. Click here to read Ellen's recollection of making this recipe when she was a kid. 

2. Ellen Gray is a professional pie whisperer, a half-marathon runner and former restauranteur. Read more about her work at No More Mr. Nice Pie, and follow @nomoremrnicepie on instagram for pretty pictures, puns and pie-kus.