Peach-Pecan Cornbread

as promised, i recently met some friends and their little ones at the nearby peach orchard. 

the kiddos loved riding in the wagons to the ready-to-pick peach trees, dodging the left-behind rotting, vinegar-scented peaches strewn across the ground, and pulling the perfectly ripe peaches from the branches of the trees to place in our bags to take home. though, i think their favorite part (or at least i know my son's 'cherry on the top') was the peach milkshake after our hot harvesting session. 

there's always a little bit of excitement when picking fruits which erases reason regarding the actual amount of fruit to pick. i always end up with more than i really need because it's hard to not get carried away with the fun of the picking. knowing i wanted to avoid excessive refined sweets, instead of a pie, cobbler, or sugared scone i wanted to come up with something a little less dessert-y. but something more exciting than sitting down to yet another plain piece of fruit.

so here we have it... why not marry some of the south's favorites... a favorite fruit, favorite nut, and favorite bread. and even favorite sweetener, molasses! it all went so wonderfully together. it's not an overly sweet bread, but i typically love to drench my cornbread in molasses and butter. so this way i didn't feel tempted because a bit of the flavor was already there. the peaches added a delicate sweetness, while the pecans add some tasty crunch. 

definitely a marriage made in heaven.

Peach-Pecan Cornbread

1           teaspoon golden flaxmeal
2           teaspoons very hot water
140       grams (about 1 cup) gluten-free yellow cornmeal
140       grams (1 cup) kumquat gluten-free all-purpose flour
2           tablespoons sugar
1           tablespoon baking powder
1           teaspoon salt
1           cup milk
1/4        cup molasses
2           large eggs
1           cup coarsely chopped peaches
1/2        cup chopped pecans
1/3        cup canola oil
Thinly sliced peaches

Preheat oven to 450°.

Combine flaxmeal and hot water in a small bowl until it forms a slurry; set aside.

Combine cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Combine milk, molasses, eggs, and flax slurry. Add milk mixture to cornmeal mixture. Stir in peaches and pecans.

Pour canola oil into a 10-inch iron skillet. Place skillet in hot oven for 2-3 minutes or until hot. Carefully pour batter into hot skillet. Place peach slices on top of batter. Bake at 450° for 20 minutes or until pick inserted into center of bread comes out clean.
Yield: 12 servings.