Peach Recipes with Eastern European Flair

This is a variation of my mother's Strawberry Dumpling Dessert Recipe, which she could make quickly when local fruits were plentiful. The sweet biscuit topping is similar to the savory biscuit topping or "dumplings" on stew, hence the name.

This easy peach butter recipe calls for just three ingredients -- fresh peaches, water and sugar. My mother never used spices in her peach butter or peach pie, saying they "took away" from the fresh-fruit flavor and I have to agree. See fruit butters, conserves, jams, jellies, marmalades and preserves for more information.

This Czech peach mousse recipe -- broskvovi krem -- is made with fresh fruit. It's a delightful, slightly sweet dessert that can be served chilled or frozen. Serve with peach marmalade, if desired.

Eastern European Pickled Peaches are wonderful as a side dish or condiment, and as a dessert. Before refrigeration, pickling was a common way of preserving eggs, meats, fruits and vegetables.

My mother would make this Peach Pie recipe after a late-August visit to friends in southwestern Michigan who had an abundance of South Haven peach trees. Unlike other peach-pie makers, Mom never used spices like ginger, cinnamon or nutmeg in her pie. She wanted the pure, fresh flavor of juicy peaches to come shining through, and it did.

This recipe for Hungarian Poached Peaches -- Barack Kompot -- is an easy-breezy dessert that captures the fresh-fruit flavor of summer. This dessert stands on its own merit but, if you want to gild the lily, serve with vanilla ice cream, pound cake or whipped cream.

This refreshing Hungarian cold peach soup can be a sweet meal starter, but it is often served as dessert. Except for the sugar syrup, this is a no-cook soup. The wine and brandy give it a nice kick.

This recipe for Czechoslovakian Peach Dumpling Dessert features a flaky crust and a surprise of dumplings nestled among the sliced peaches. Traditionally, hazelnuts are added to the sugar mixture, but I prefer it without.

Bulgarian Roasted Peaches are a perfect example of the dichotomy of Bulgarian desserts. They are either exquisitely simple like these roasted peaches or elaborate, sugary affairs like Bulgarian baklava. It's worth heating up the kitchen in summer for this dessert kissed with a little butter, vanilla sugar and clove. It can be served with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream but that's really gilding the lily. The peaches stand on their own merit.

This Polish Peach Tart recipe features a sweet, flaky crust topped with fresh peach halves and baked until bubbly. A sprinkle of confectioners' sugar completes this dessert.