Well, hopefully everyone survived the Thanksgiving turkey-o-thon! We had a great time with our family, and the kids were super excited to eat as much dessert as they could fit in their little bellies. I’m a firm believer in letting the kids have treats on holidays. Sarayah had 3 plates of whipped cream and Aidan had pumpkin pie, cookies, and 2 cupcakes. Let’s just say they were up til almost 11pm! But they had a blast and enjoyed playing with their Grandma and Grandpa and cousins, Michael and Jane!

I’m getting the itch to decorate for Christmas. My husband has promised me a big fat tree and I am determined to deck my little halls with as many lights as our fuse box can handle. I also am getting the itch to do some holiday baking! I know that for many of us, finances are tight this year. So, I had an idea. Instead of buying trinkets and what-me-knots for friends and family, why not organize a “Sweets and Treats Swap”! Ask your friends and family to make their favorite desserts and them wrap them up in festive wrappings, put them in a basket with hot chocolate and coffees and teas – maybe even a mug or two – organize a swapping party and spend time playing games, catching up and making memories. You could even have the kids make homemade ornaments to add to your basket. In the spirit of the Sweet Treat Swap, I am going to do a series of desserts and homemade ornaments recipes. I would really LOVE you for you all to get involved in this with me! So, if any of you have ornament ideas or recipes you’d like to share, please let me know and I will feature them in the coming weeks!

One of my husband’s favorite sweets is what I call “Dutch Peach Pie”. This is an uber-simple, super gooey, melt-in-your-mouth treat. It doesn’t take long to make, so let’s get started!

~Serves 6-10 people~

Food Stuffs:

2 Large cans of sliced peaches-drained
3 Cups AP flour
6 Tbsp Butter Crisco
1 Cup light brown sugar
1 stick of butter
Cinnamon, nutmeg and pinch of salt

Crust:
We are going to use the crust recipe from Monday’s post. But this time, we are only making one crust. So, combine 1 cup flour and 6 Tbsp Butter Crisco. Blend, using your pastry cutter until pea-sized balls appear. Add 3 Tbsp iced water and mix until it forms a ball. Set crust aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine peaches with 1/2 tsp cinnamon and a pinch of salt and 4 Tbsp of flour or 4 Tbsp of instant Tapioca. Set aside.

In a separate mixing bowl, combine 1 cup flour, one cup brown sugar a dash of nutmeg and pinch of salt and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon. Mix. Add 1 stick of cold butter. Using your pastry cutter, blend butter and flour mixture until pea-sized balls form.

Roll out your pie crust. Place it in a standard pie pan. Trim, tuck and crimp edges. Pour the peach mixture into the pie crust and sprinkle on the brown sugar topping. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour. You will know your pie is done when the filling blows bubbles but the bubbles don’t pop.

We always serve this with cream vanilla ice cream and coffee. Curl up on the sofa with your honey and your watch the lights on your tree while you enjoy this oozy peachy treat.