I Just Created The Most Insanely Delicious Summer Dessert Of All Time. And It’s Heathy.
Not “healthy for a dessert.” Like, actually healthy.
by Audie Metcalf
The star of this dessert?
The humble peach.
Though as we transition into fall, you might be inspired to use any stone fruit you so desire. And in fact, the stone fruit’s peak seasonality runs clear through the end of September and even into October depending on where you live. So that means you potentially have 86 days from date of publishing to make this scrumptious, satiating, elegant dish. Meaning, you have the potential to make it every, single night. For 86 nights. Which is what I’ve done since June, because it is addictive and healthy.
Additionally, how good is the phrase stone fruit?
I even whipped up some homespun photographs for you, wherein I made it early in the morning to catch the perfect light. And lo and behold, it made a glorious breakfast, too. I have a feeling I wouldn’t kick it out of bed as a snack, either. Ergo, you can eat this friendly little recipe any time of day and it’s utterly perfect.
Enough yammering, let’s make Grilled Peaches with Yogurt and Vanilla Bean.
I hesitate to even call this a recipe as that would be an insult to real recipe creators. It’s more of a stumbled-upon, 3-minute taste-explosion inspired by wanting an after dinner sweet treat that’s actually healthy, plus one secret ingredient which I will tease you with now in order to get you to read this entire article, as all good content creators do.
Ok so first up, here’s all you need to make this dish:
• Peaches
• Maple Syrup
• Yogurt (Fage is, of course, best)
• Vanilla Bean Paste
Uch, I guess I don’t have the skills to keep that secret until the end. I simply must tell you now because it’s the key ingredient without which everything falls apart in a horrible heap.
If you are going to make this joyful dish, you will need to purchase THIS otherworldly little elixir:
No, you cannot use the ratchet vanilla extract currently lurking in your pantry. You must use this. Sorry. It is unctuous, it is rich, it is bursting with real, vanilla bean flavor, and it turns your low-fat boring yogurt into no joke something akin to mascarpone. And that is where the genius exists. Because there’s no fewer than 18,492 recipes with mascarpone as the creamy base for fruit-hero deserts. But yogurt?! That can be mistaken for mascarpone?! Or, gasp, better yet, CREME FRAICHE!? Yes. And it’s all because of THIS vanilla paste. Order it now. Then go to your local far-mar asap for some firm peaches. And this dish will be on your table in no time.
Ok so here are the “steps”, such as they are:
Halve a peach. Core the pit. Lay flat on a lightly sprayed frying pan or better yet a grill pan. I used to have one but I “moved house” recently and lost it.
The peach should look something like this.
Btw, those are the only tongs on earth worth using. And since I KNOW you’re buying that vanilla paste, throw THESE into your cart. You won’t be disappointed. And so cheap.
Now you throw a few spoonfuls of yogurt into a bowl, along with a small glug of maple syrup, and a bountiful spoonful of the vanilla bean paste. I don’t measure these. Except with my heart. You should do the same.
Whip it all up with a whisk or whatever you have on hand, remove the peaches from the stove, and if you’re making this for a dinner party, place one half of the peach into your loveliest vessel, and top with a spoonful of the yogurt mixture. Et voila.
You will serve it with a knife and fork, of course, but when you are all alone, grilling peaches at 7:45 in the morning, you will not need a knife and fork. Only your grubby paws and open maw. Et voila.
Now, when you are making this NOT for company and only for your screeching family, you can choose to chop the peach into bite sized chunks, grill, and then spoon over said chunks atop a waiting bowl of the yogurt mixture, such that it looks something like this:
Yes. For this article I made two batches of grilled peaches. And I ate them all. WHAT OF IT?
Here is the aftermath if you don’t believe me.
In conclusion, get this vanilla paste. Find some nice, firm peaches, make this dessert. Sometimes I throw some full mint leaves on top as a garnish. But I had used up all of my mint making mint-infused lemonade that actually didn’t turn out that well or else I would have written about it.
Will you dm me a photo of this when you try it? And will you gush about how you’re wowed by how these flavors do indeed mimic a mascarpone bite? It will really feed my ego and therefore, I’ll do more food-adjacent articles which are a ton of work for little return.
Peach and thank you. (Too much?)
Audie Metcalf is the Editor-in-chief of The Candidly, and lives in LA with her family. You can find more of her articles here.
At The Candidly, we try a lot of stuff so you don’t have to. We only recommend things we truly love, and that we think you’ll love, too. All products are chosen independently by our creative team, and all details reflect the price and availability of products at the time of publication. If you buy something we link to, The Candidly may earn a commission.
We have to eat.
