One of the true indulgences of summer:  Taking a bite of a warm, ripe, juicy peach, its fragrant nectar and luscious rich sweetness  just dripping down your arm. Pure heaven. I am lucky enough to live in a region of the country where peaches are a staple summer fruit, featured alongside a colorful palette of blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and melons. Many farms near my Bucks County, PA town offer "pick your own" peaches, or sell them at farm stores or weekly Farmers Markets, which is where I often get them now. 
Peaches originated in China and made their way to Persia, Greece, and temperate European countries including Italy, Spain, and France. They were first introduced to the southeastern United States more than 300 years ago by Spanish explorers. It is thought that English and French settlers brought peach seeds with them to the northeastern United States. At first peaches in America were mostly grown in private orchards until commercial production took off in the 19th century. 
I found several 19th century peach recipes while doing research for my current book, The Thousand Dollar Dinner. Peach pie was one of the items featured as part of the Thirteenth Course (Pastry) at that 1851 feast. The dinner's chef and host, Philadelphia restauranteur James  Parkinson, also included peach tarts, peach ice cream and peaches and ice cream  on his menus. In The Complete Confectioner (1844), his mother, pastry cook and confectioner Eleanor Parkinson, listed recipes for peach ice, peach water ice, peach paste (made by mixing the fruit's pulp with sugar and heating it to marmalade consistency, then forming it into rings and knots so it could be candied or crystallized), and even peach water (described as a cooling drink for balls and routs!)
Today peaches are still used to infuse and enhance drinks such as peach tea and cocktails (including bellinis and margaritas). They are also incorporated into many savory dishes such as salads and pizza as well as condiments such as relishes, chutneys and barbecue sauce. My husband and I love to grill them with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar - a terrific accompaniment to pork, chicken or turkey. 
But peach desserts are still probably the most popular way to showcase the juicy, fragrant fruit, including cobblers, crisps, crumbles, cakes and pies. In fact, peaches are such a part of American lore that according to the Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink," peach cobbler rivals traditional apple pie as the classic all-American dessert." I didn't realize this when I  picked up a large sackful of the last of the late-summer white peaches last week at the Lower Makefield Farmer's Market, but this is exactly what I had planned on making after seeing the recipe in Greg Patent's Baking in America.  This batch of plump sweet peaches have been delectable eating right out of hand, and also in the delicious cobbler I made over the weekend. 
Patent's recipe is actually labeled Raspberry Cobbler (which I'm sure is also fantastic), but he lists many alternate fruit combinations including peaches, as well as peaches paired with blueberries and raspberries. I followed his recipe, just swapping out some orange-flower water for the almond extract and a combination of nutmeg and cinnamon for the pumpkin pie spice. It was fantastic, and this flavor combination nicely complemented the peaches - aromatic but not overpowering - it definitely gave the dessert a little something extra.