Southern Peach Cobbler

Photo Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy

Just when you thought Peach-O-Rama was over! If you didn't read my last entry, I explained the origin of Peach-O-Rama and the reasons these particular peaches are so spectacular. Please read the entry below if you are interested in learning details. Because local peaches are at their prime over the next few weeks, I decided to go all out and not only make peach jam but also peach cobbler. I was torn between peach cobbler and peach crisp but I decided on peach cobbler because I knew I was going to make an apple crisp as soon as Washington apples hit our local markets. So, in typical Google Search Queen style, I googled peach cobbler and chose the one that appealed to me most. Please see the recipe below:

Ingredients:

8 peaches; peeled, pitted and sliced

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tsp corn starch

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup white sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

6 Tbsp unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces

1/4 cup boiling water

Mix together:

3 Tbsp white sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In large bowl, combine first set of ingredients; peaches, sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, cornstarch and lemon juice. Toss to coat evenly and pour into 2 quart baking dish. Bake in oven for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine next set of ingredients; sugars, baking powder and salt. Blend in butter with fingers or pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in boiling water until just combined.

Remove peaches from oven and drop spoonfuls of topping over them. Sprinkle entire cobbler with cinnamon sugar mixture.

Photo Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy

Bake 30 minutes or until topping is golden brown.

Before I comment on the recipe, I want to briefly touch on a kitchen tool I discovered a few weeks ago; a peach peeler. This peeler is designed specifically to remove soft peach skin without damaging the fruit. When I peeled peaches in the past, I used a paring knife. This might work well for some people but not for me. Since my knife skills are lacking, I usually take off flesh with the skin, wasting parts of the peach that I should be using. Upon finding this tool, I was a bit skeptical but it ended up working beautifully. I also appreciate that it is peach in color so I don't mistake it for my regular vegetable peeler. It's from Peelers for Dummies. :)

Photo Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy

I'm not going to lie. This cobbler was luscious! I thoroughly enjoyed the sweetness of the peaches and the topping was perfect. It was crispy on the top but a little bit soft and gooey in the middle. Of course it didn't hurt that I served the cobbler with a scoop of organic vanilla ice cream. There is nothing like ice cream melting across warm cobbler to get me in a good mood; especially right now. I have been working out with a trainer twice a week for 6 weeks so needless to say, I haven't been eating a lot of dessert. Talk about a buzz kill, right? After eating my cobbler, I felt moved to proclaim that this was my treat for the week; as if someone is interested in monitoring me. Brad's comment was that this cobbler was definitely worth the sacrifice. I immediately concurred and I didn't even feel a bit guilty. How 'bout them peaches? They sure brought happiness to the Lovejoy house today.