Peach Dumplings

This is absolutely the best thing one could EVER do with a fresh peach!! The recipe was handed down from my maternal grandmother and is an old Bohemian recipe.  My mother in turn, made this every summer when peaches were in season.  I started making it before we had kids, and because the real way to eat them is to put some butter pats on the top and dump on some sugar, my husband scoffed at me for taking any nutritional value out of the peach!! "Whatever!!" I said!!  However, now the children LOOOOOVE them--and I believe the old guy also put 3 of them down his esophagus the other night too-so he has finally conformed!!  I just don't think that anyone could hate them!!

In a large bowl mix 1 1/2 cups milk, 2 eggs, 1/2 tsp salt and 4 cups of flour to make a nice soft dough. Add more flour if needed so that it doesn't make your hands overly sticky.

Take a small lump of dough (depends on the size of your peaches) and pat it out flat on a floured surface.

Put the washed peach in the middle. . .

and enclose the peach in the dough patty.  If it doesn't want to stick, put on a little extra flour to pinch the edges shut--you want it completely enclosed with no open seams or holes or they fall apart in the water--but you can still eat 'em, they just don't look good.  If your crust is too thin or won't close, add a little extra dough on it and pat it together.  Trust me, ANYONE can make these!!

Throw them into a pot of boiling water, stirring gently IMMEDIATELY to keep them from sticking to the bottom or each other.  Swirl them gently and occasionally for 15 minutes and then remove from the pot.

The recipe makes enough dough for about 10 regular sized peaches.  Since mine were smaller, I had about 16 dumplings.  I used to always cut the recipe in half and make about 5--and they refrigerate well so you can eat them again the next day!  Cut the little suckers in half on your plate, and then into bite sized pieces and apply butter or margarine if you like and sprinkle with sugar.  And then you can thank me for introducing you to this sinful treat!! But consider all of the vitamin C you are getting!!

I think we'll have them again tonight!!

Addendum:  my editor: AKA my mother--told me that I should make a note that we eat these with meat.  We are meat-eaters at our homes--and we don't eat these FOR a meal, we eat them WITH a meal.  She grew up eating them with fried chicken.  We eat them with anything around here--we used to eat them with salmon patties--just because those don't take too long to fix.  But the other night, we ate them with pork chops.  I probably COULD be provoked to eat them AS a meal--but I really like meat--so I don't.  How was that mom???