Peaches & Amarettini Cheesecake Bowl

Hey guys today I'm bringing you peaches - a lot of them and amarettinis! Those tiny little italian almond cookies you usually get with your espresso if you're at the "right" spot ;-).
I didn't like coffee as a kid, but my parents never got the chance to enjoy theirs with the cookies - they already got sneaked away by some tiny little hands - hehe!

For years I was convinced that only cafes had those cookies and that there was some kind of magic behind the crunchy flavour as well as that they'd only be served with an espresso - childhood logic I guess. Nowadays I'm totally aware of the fact (and enjoy it) that they can be found at most supermarkets in some corner of the cookie section. Most of those don't come close to the original italian ones, but they're better than none -  me having "Amarettini Cookies" written on my to-bake list for several years now...

Okay enough of the cookie talk - on to the other component that's featured in today's recipe: peaches! Beautiful ripe yellow peaches - juicy to the max and oh-so-flavourful.
If you visit my instagram from time to time then you might be aware that I like those grilled - preferably with yogurt but when a craving for something a little more indulgent hits on the weekend then this happens: an Peaches & Amarettini Cheesecake Bowl!

Yes it says Cheesecake, yet it ain't no baking involved at all, 'cause it's summer and usind the oven on is the last thing I've got on my mind (wow, that sounds crazy for a bakeaholic...). Here we just have a nice amarettini cookie crust which carries a brown sugar peach cheesecake cream on top and of course more peaches and amarettinis alias decoration.

It's a super easy yet flavourful, impressive and seasonal dessert or rumors say it might have been enjoyed with an afternoon coffee as well. I called it bowl in the end because cream would have sounded overindulgend and wouldn't have called the used quark cheese/fromage frais justice which healthifies this dessert at least a bit - or thats what I like to think.. :-). Happy weekend everyone!

Peaches & Amarettini Cheesecake Bowl

- makes 6-8 servings (15x25cm/6.91x9.84 inch rectangular or 20cm/8 inch round pan)

- 200g crushed Amarettini cookies plus more to garnish

- 3 Tbsp butter, melted

- 1 kg quark cheese/fromage frais or cream cheese/greek yogurt

- 8 ripe, yellow peaches

- 1/3 cup brown sugar

1. Mix the crushed cookies with the melted butter and press the mix into a 15x25cm pan (6.91x9.84inch or alternatively an 8 inch round pan. Place in the refrigerator to set.

2. Place the peaches into a medium sized heat-proof bowl - pour them over with boiling water and let it sit for up to a minute, then remove from the bowl and rinse the peaches with cold water - now peel the fruit and cut into eights. 

3. Place the prepared fruit into a bowl and mix with 3 Tbsp of the sugar. Let them sit for 10 minutes, then stir again and remove the excess fruit juice that has been built. Blend the fruit, then mix it with the quark cheese and the remaining sugar. Spread on top of the crust and put the pan back into the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or overnight. This dessert can be made up to two days in advance. Enjoy!