Last updated on December 3rd, 2020 at 11:41 am

The peach galette is a free-form pie. It takes all the usual elements of a regular pie to create a rustic pastry that celebrates the Peach State’s finest asset.

I’ve been thinking about working my way through all of the state desserts—you know, with my own twist. I was going to start with states I’ve lived in or have connections with—I have one or two ticked off (California is meyer lemon cake, Illinois is the brownie)—and since May is the start of peach season the grocery store had mountains of peaches on sale and my brain immediately went to Georgia for an especially rich and peachy, southern dessert.

*“Peachoid,” a water tower in Gaffney, SC in the shape of a peach.*

My dear cousin is from Georgia and we spent many summers driving from her house in Roswell to our grandparents’ house on the South Carolina coast. I don’t remember eating Georgia peaches, but I do remember my aunt declaring that South Carolina peaches are better than Georgia’s. That’s not entirely surprising as Gaffney, South Carolina (hometown of Andie MacDowell) welcomes visitors with what might be considered the world’s largest peach (or largest butt, depending on how old you are).

What is surprising is that Georgia does not have a state dessert. No peach pie, no peach cobbler, no peaches ‘n’ cream, no peach crisp.

Not knowing that Georgia lacks a branded confection of its own, I bought a bunch of peaches with grand gustatory expectations. When my research turned up nothing, I decided to go with a mini peach galette.

Peach galettes are just free-form pies. That means you can make them any size you want—you’re not bound to a giant 9” pie and you won’t have too much leftover if you’re not entertaining.

Peach Galette

The peach galette is a free-form pie. It takes all the usual elements of a regular pie to create a rustic pastry that celebrates the Peach State's finest asset.

Print Recipe

Prep Time 1 30

Cook Time 30

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Ingredients

½ cup unsalted butter
¾ cup All-purpose flour
¼ tsp kosher salt
5 each small peaches, pitted and quartered
3 TB granulated sugar
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp cornstarch
½ tsp vanilla

Instructions

For the dough, whisk together the dry ingredients.
Place the butter in a food processor. Dump the dry ingredients on the butter and pulse until it all forms a dough. If it’s too dry, add a tablespoon or two, and pulse again.
Form a ball, wrap it in plastic and refrigerate for an hour.
Preheat oven to 375℉.
Transfer the dough to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.

Filling

For the filling, whisk together the dry ingredients. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface.
Toss the peaches with the vanilla and then sprinkle the sugar mixture on the peaches and stir to coat the peaches. Set aside.
Turn the dough between each roll to keep it from sticking to the surface and to make it round.

Assembly

Pile the peaches in the middle of the dough and fold up the edges—don’t worry if it’s messy—the sloppier it is, the more rustic you can pretend it is 😉 . Brush the dough with heavy cream. Sprinkle turbinado sugar on the moistened dough.
Bake for about 30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the filling bubbles. Let cool on a wire rack. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Keyword peaches, pie

This is a fabulous summer dessert, but I cannot imagine turning on the oven during a Georgia summer. However, it’s the perfect way to brighten San Francisco’s June Gloom that’s headed our way.