On certain summer days, biting into a ripe, juicy peach is exactly what the moment calls for. But if you have the fortitude to turn on the oven despite the heat, you unlock a battery of homey peach desserts, including this charmingly named pandowdy.
An old-timey Pennsylvania Dutch dessert traditionally made with apples, a pandowdy is more rustic than a pie and easier to make, featuring a somewhat haphazard top crust over a pile of in-season fruit. In the same family as a cobbler or crisp, in summer it’s perfectly suited to peaches.
There are more than two thousand varieties of peaches (Prunus persica), developed for fruit and flowers alike. Ornamental flowering cultivars boast showy clusters of early-spring blossoms in pinks ranging from pale blush to magenta. Fruits can be yellow-fleshed or white (or even red), plump and round or donut-shaped, fuzzy or smooth (nectarines are simply fuzz-free peaches). You can use any of these for this recipe.
Although their Latin name suggests Persian origin (where Europeans first encountered them), peaches actually hail from China. In the U.S., post-Columbian exchange, we have Indigenous peoples to thank for the fruit’s proliferation across the Southeastern states, according to research by archaeologists at Pennsylvania State University. Utilizing Indigenous land-management techniques and expertise, Native communities in the 16th century cultivated, bred, and shared new peach varieties along existing trade networks.
Caring for peach trees is fairly labor-intensive, as they require rigorous annual pruning and are susceptible to disease and pests. Trees typically begin fruiting in their second or third year and have a short lifespan, often only 10 to 15 years. Still, their offerings are so abundant and beloved that the effort is well worth it. One characteristic that works in growers’ favor: Peaches are self-fertile, meaning flowers have both male and female parts and a single tree can produce fruit.
The trees are also excellent candidates for espalier—training them to grow along a trellis or wall. This technique is not just aesthetically pleasing; it helps manage the trees’ shape, keeping them compact with maximum exposure to sunlight. When trained against a wall, the structure’s residual heat can also protect the trees from frost in early spring and help fruit to ripen in the summer.
The best peaches for eating are those that have ripened on the tree. When choosing them at the farmers’ market or grocer, check the color underneath the fruit’s rosy blush—it should be yellow or white, depending on the variety, without any green tint. Greenish fruits will not get any sweeter upon storage, but firm, well-colored peaches will continue to soften and ripen.
You may sometimes see peaches categorized as clingstone or freestone, indicating whether the fruit clings to the pit or comes away easily, but this information isn’t always visible at the point of purchase; if you get home and find that your peaches are refusing to release from their pits, simply cut away the fruit as best you can.
Peach Pandowdy
Serves 9 to 12
Ingredients
For the crust
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cold, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons milk
For the filling
- 2 pounds peaches
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For baking and serving
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- Vanilla ice cream, for serving (optional)
Make the Crust
In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt and pulse a few times to mix. Add the butter and pulse until evenly incorporated; the mixture should look powdery with a few visible flakes of butter. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, then add the milk and pulse two or three times, just until the liquid is incorporated. The dough will look very crumbly and soft but should hold together when you pinch a bit between your fingers.
(If you do not have a food processor: Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the butter pieces and work them into the flour using your fingers, squeezing and crumbling until the butter is mostly incorporated. Add the milk and finish mixing using a wooden spoon or your fingers.)
Turn out the dough onto a large piece of plastic wrap and press the crumbs together into a square. Wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or until you are ready to make the pandowdy. The dough can also be frozen for up to a month; bring to cool room temperature before rolling.
Make the Filling
About half an hour before baking, preheat the oven to 425°F. Take the wrapped dough out of the fridge and let it sit at room temperature until pliant enough to roll, 10 to 15 minutes.
While the oven is preheating, pit and cut the peaches into 1/2-inch slices; you should have about 6 cups. In a large bowl, combine the peaches, sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla and toss until the dry ingredients are moistened and the peaches are evenly coated. Transfer the filling to an 8-inch square baking dish, filling the dish as evenly as possible; scrape any juices from the bowl over the peaches.
Assemble and Bake
On a lightly floured surface using a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough into an approximately 9-inch square.
Gently lift the crust and drape it over the peach filling. Tuck the edges of the crust back into the dish as best you can—it’s not meant to be perfect. Use a paring knife to cut several slashes in the dough. Brush the top of the crust with milk and sprinkle with granulated sugar.
Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the pandowdy from the oven and carefully use a spatula to cut several more large slits in the crust, perpendicular to the first ones. Lower the heat to 375°F and continue to bake until the crust is golden brown and the filling is thick and bubbling up through the crust, 45 to 55 minutes more.
Let cool almost completely, at least 2 hours, before serving—with ice cream if desired.
