I am so sweet on summer. All the delicious, ripe fruit puts a big smile on my face and I’m grinning ear-to-ear thanks to a windfall of peaches and nectarines. This week I’ve been gobbling up the seasonal treats faster than a greedy squirrel in an orchard. But that’s just fine because peaches are much better for me than M&Ms. Peaches can add nutritional heft to any meal or snack, offering significant amounts of vitamins (especially vitamins A, C and Niacin), more than 10 percent of daily fiber needs, and lots of potassium. Oh, and peaches are 89 percent water, so they help with hydration, too!

Since I ended up with 40 pounds of fruit on my latest haul, I decided to wow the family with some healthier desserts made with peaches. After flipping through my copy of The America’s Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook, I was drawn into the chapter titled “Fruit Desserts & More.”  With all the drool-worthy food photos, it was hard to decide which dessert to make. Should I break out my springform pan for the Plum-Peach Upside-Down Almond Cake or try out the Peach Shortcakes. Within this 500+ page resource of healthy recipes, there is also a simple recipe for Pan-Roasted Peaches that would be sublime served with a little drizzle of caramel or vanilla ice cream (or both!).  So many choices, it’s a good thing I have a lot of peaches and willing taste-testers.

For last night’s dessert, I decided to prepare it Jennifer-style and just make up the recipe as I went along. I’m calling it Gluten-Free Peach Pecan Crisp in a Skillet.  Inspired by the Pear Oat Crisp from The America’s Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook, I tweaked it up a bit by adding some Jack Daniels (ahem) and swapping out the flour in the topping for almond meal. And, substituting peaches for pears. And, adding pecans. Okay, I made the whole thing up. For my gluten-free guests, I would like to point out that most experts say that people with celiac disease can safely drink distilled alcoholic beverages, even those that are made with gluten grains (which includes whiskey). That’s because distillation supposedly removes all of the gluten protein molecules responsible for the bad reactions, rendering the drinks gluten-free. However, if whiskey disagrees with you then you can swap it out for dark rum (non-gluten grain) or simply omit. No biggie.

Gluten-Free Peach Pecan Crisp {In a Skillet}

Filling:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• ¼ cup bourbon whiskey
• 1 teaspoons lemon juice
• 3 pounds fresh freestone peaches (approximately 7), pitted and sliced into wedges
• ½ cup pecans, coarsely chopped

Topping:

• 2/3  cup all-purpose almond meal
• 2/3 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons butter, melted
• ¼ cup honey

For the filling, heat the oven to 400 F degrees with rack in the middle position. In a 12-inch cast iron skillet, melt butter and stir in the whiskey and lemon juice until combined. Mix in peach slices until coated and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes to cook off alcohol. Stir in chopped pecans.

For topping, mix together almond meal, oats, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt until blended. Add melted butter and honey and mix until incorporated.

Spread topping evenly over the top of peaches; gently press down with clean hands or back of wooden spoon.

Place skillet on rimmed baking sheet (to catch any juices that might overflow) and bake in 400 F degree oven for approximately 20 – 25 minutes or until peach juices are bubbling and topping has browned. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving. Serves 8.

Recipe Update:  Do NOT store the leftover crisp in the cast iron skillet. Transfer to a glass or plastic storage container.

Peach Upside-Down Almond Cake – from America’s Test Kitchen

Even though I winged it on this recipe, you should really check out the The American’s Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook from which it was inspired.  From breakfasts and lunches to dinner entrees and sensible sides (plus desserts!), this cookbook is a compendium of healthy classics that I feel great about serving my family. There are lots of cool things about the cookbook including the binder- style design that allows you to take the pages in and out, if you please. Plus, the recipes are very detailed, there’s no way you can mess one up. In addition to explicit step-by-step instructions, there are also tips on how to get many kitchen tasks done like blanching peaches or thawing out steaks quickly and also tests results and reviews on a lot of the current products on the cooking gadget and gear market.

I’m also excited to announce that I am a new member of the Cooking Light Blogger Connection (so new that my profile isn’t even up yet). I have loved this magazine for years and have so many dog-eared copies laying around to kick-start my kitchen creativity. Check out some of the favorite peach recipes from the editors at Cooking Light, the recipes for Peach and Brie Quesadillas with Lime-Honey Dipping Sauce and Golden Peach Soup with Crab and Shrimp Ceviche both caught my eye. YUM!

Golden Peach Soup with Crab and Shrimp Ceviche – from Cooking Light

Peach and Brie Quesidillas from Cooking Light