Peach Puzzle

“Peach Puzzle” was an unknown dessert until 2007, when Lois Schladerman won the grand prize at the Cook’s Country recipe contest. Schladerman said that her mother made peach puzzle back in the 1940s or 1950s. 
 
Peaches are coated with a flaky biscuit. An empty ramekin is placed in the center of the tray and gets filled up with sweet liquid,
 
   
NPR
Peach Puzzle
March 19, 2007 5:28 PM
Recipe by Lois Schlademan
Stow, Ohio
This recipe (which won the grand prize in the Cook’s Country lost recipe contest) has all the abracadabra of a magic trick as well as beautiful presentation and great taste. Lois says the name refers to the “puzzling” cooking method. Her recipe begins by placing a custard cup upside down in the center of a pie plate. Seven peaches (peeled but still whole) are arranged around the cup and then drizzled with a mixture of brown sugar, butter, and vanilla. A buttery biscuit dough is then domed over the peaches and the custard cup. As the peaches bake under the crust, a vacuum forms inside the custard cup and the juices in the pie plate are pulled up inside the cup. Once cooled, the pie plate is flipped over to reveal the peaches nestled into the flaky biscuit. So where’s the butterscotch-like syrup? It’s all in the cup!

As you might imagine, Lois’s recipe is unique—in our research, we failed to come across a single recipe like it. Lois says that her mother made peach puzzle back in the 1940s or 1950s and that it has been a family favorite ever since.
 
Cook’s Country
Peach Puzzle
From Cook’s Country
April​/May 2007
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
This Peach Puzzle recipe has all the pizzazz of a magic trick, as well as beautiful presentation and all-around good taste. The unusual recipe’s technique includes placing a custard cup upside down in the center of a pie plate. Peeled peaches are arranged around the cup and drizzled with a mixture of brown sugar, butter, and vanilla. Buttery biscuit dough is domed over the peaches, and then the Peach Puzzle goes into the oven. Once cooled, the pie plate is flipped over to reveal tender peaches nestled into the flaky biscuit—and a butterscotch-like sauce in the ramekin.
   
YumSugar
52 Weeks of Baking: Peach Puzzle
JUNE 27, 2007
The magazine Cook’s Country recently hosted a recipe contest where their readers sent in their old-school family recipes. The winner, a crafty “Peach Puzzle” looked delicious, but didn’t really catch my fancy until I read the recipe. The whole thing is prepared like an upside-down cake - with an empty ramekin placed in the middle - and when flipped over the ramekin is surprisingly full of a sweet liquid treat! It’s wonderfully old-fashioned, absolutely tasty, and I actually couldn’t wait to tell everyone how it was made. If you’re curious yourself, then check out the recipe now, read more.
 
Democrat and Chronicle (Upstate NY)
Peach puzzle is delightful dessert
Aug 6, 2007
(...)
Peach Puzzle
Peaches and syrup:
7 medium peaches, peeled
¾ cup packed brown sugar
6 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons butter
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8teaspoon salt
 
Dough:
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons cold butter, cut into ¼-inch pieces
6 tablespoons milk
   
Serious Eats
Old Fashioned Peach Cobbler (A.K.A. Peach Puzzle)
Alexandra Penfold
AUG 3, 2012
7:45 AM
The recipe is adapted from the Peach Cobbler recipe found in The Malone Cook Book produced by the ladies of the First Congregational Church in Malone New York and The Peach Puzzle recipe in Cook’s Illustrated America’s Best Lost Recipes.