Peach Refrigerator Dessert

I've been looking forward to making this recipe, but I knew the window for doing so would be short. Grandma would have only used fresh, in-season peaches, and our crop was almost ready. Then Mother Nature threw a fit in the form of wind, rain, and hail. We lost nearly half the crop. Those that ripened weren’t pretty, but they would have to do. 

How to Make Peach Refrigerator Dessert

Having learned a few things from my last test, I read the recipe card thoroughly before starting. It wasn’t written in a logical order, so I started with the crust.  

I used my mini food processor to make the crumbs. It's quick and easy, and the crumbs end up finer than if they’d been crushed by hand. It took almost a whole box of graham crackers to reach two and a half cups. 

I stirred the crumbs with melted butter and sugar until the mixture looked like damp sand. 

The recipe then told me to set some aside. How much? It didn’t say, so I settled on a quarter of a cup. 

The next question was which pan to use. Grandma’s recipe calls for a 9 x 15-inch, which is an odd size. I have a "lasagna pan" that is slightly bigger than 9 x 13, so that’s the one I pressed my crumbs into. I then put the pan into the fridge so the crust could solidify while I made the next layer.  

For the filling, I added the water, sugar, and cornstarch to a saucepan then brought it to a boil.  

 The recipe then said to add a package of orange jello. I had doubts about how well the orange flavor would blend with the peaches, but I'd made that pesky vow to make the recipes as written. I dumped the contents of the package in and stirred until the granules dissolved.  

To cool the mixture, I placed the pan in ice water in the sink, a nifty trick I learned from my mom. It works well for cooling jello and pudding, but you have to remember not to turn on the water to that sink. Don't ask me how I know this important safety tip.  

Next, I peeled and sliced 5 peaches, which was enough to make four cups. 

They went into the cooled jello mixture, which I then spread over the crust. Even though the recipe doesn’t say to let the filling set up before adding the topping, that's what I did. I put the pan back in the fridge, figuring that a firm filling would make the spreading of the topping a whole lot easier. 

Preparing the topping was next. By the time the filling had set, the cream cheese was quite soft, so beating it with the sugar took only a few seconds. 

I beat in the Cool Whip as the recipe says to do but ended up finishing with a spatula. 

I plopped the topping in several small mounds over the peach layer. 

 I then used an offset spatula to spread it out. This turned out to be the hardest part of making this dessert because the topping was stiffer than I expected. It was a good thing I'd trusted my instinct and chilled the peach filling before attempting this step.

 Finally, I managed to get it into a somewhat even layer, but it wasn't pretty. 

That's when I remembered the crumbs I'd set aside. I sprinkled them over the top and, voila, all the flaws were hidden. Genius!

I covered the dish with plastic wrap and returned it to the fridge. I could hardly wait for Sunday dinner the next day.   

The Verdict

I shouldn't have worried about the orange jello clashing with the peaches. The ripe, fresh peaches shone through the orange jello just fine. The topping wasn’t overly sweet and made for a creamy, somewhat tangy complement to the peach filling. I hardly need to mention what I thought of the bottom layer because who doesn’t love a good graham cracker crust?  

This dessert turned out to be the perfect end-of-summer treat--delicious and refreshing. One thing to note: next time, I’ll use a 9 x 13-inch pan. The layers will be slightly thicker, but that will be a good thing. 

The only downside to this dessert is that the window for making it is so short, especially if you want fresh peaches to headline the show. And they should. If they can survive what Mother Nature throws at them, they deserve their moment in the spotlight.