Recipe Experiment #3: Easy Peach Cobbler
I LOVE PEACHES!
There, I said it, my secret is out! I would list fresh peaches as one of my top 5 favorite things about summer, maybe even in the top 3. I will eat peaches anywhere, anytime and anyway they are prepared. Grilled peaches with marscapone cheese? I'm there! Juicy, fresh peaches? Hand them over! Peach cobbler? Heck. Yeah.
Luckily for me, my mother makes, hands down, the world's best peach cobbler. It is so good, in fact, that I have flat out refused to ever attempt my own cobbler making, instead opting to call her up and whine, beg and plead until she agrees to make me cobbler the next time I visit. Why bother with an unnecessary skill when I've got the master on speed-dial?
Unluckily for me today, there was a slight mishap in the transportation of my requested peaches from Eastern Washington and the peaches became damaged. And by "damaged" I mean "horrible bruised and totes gross". Apparently my friend put the aforementioned peaches in a Ziploc baggie and then drove the 3 hours in a warm car, not noticing the sweating going on in the bag. It was, needless to say, an epic failure on her part. (But I still love you Amandy, no worries, I will continue to grace you with my awesomeness.) (And appreciate the effort.)
That miscalculation meant I was left with roughly 2 cups of mashed, goopy peach mulch....not really canning-worthy. What to do? What to do? Suddenly, it hit me! I will attempt my very first cobbler!! All will not be lost!
Knowing that I would never be able to make a cobbler worthy of my mother's I started a search for a recipe that would at least be worthy of the pile of peach goop in my kitchen. I found a recipe on myrecipes.com that had 5 stars and 95 reviews. That would have to do!
Reading through the recipe, it appears that it originally came from Southern Living June 1997. It is an oldie, and after having made it, I can affirm it is also a goodie.
Easy Peach Cobbler
1/2 C unsalted butter
1 C all-purpose flour
2 C sugar
1 Tbsp baking power
pinch of salt
1 C milk
4 C fresh peach slices
1 Tbsp lemon juice
ground cinnamon or nutmeg (optional)
1. Melt butter in a 13x9 inch baking dish.
2. Combine flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the milk, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour batter over butter (do not stir).
3. Bring remaining 1 cup sugar, peaches and lemon juice to a boil over high heat; stirring constantly. Pour over batter (do not stir). Sprinkle with cinnamon or nutmeg, if desired.
4. Bake in 375 degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown.
Equal to my mother's? No. Damn tasty? Yep!
I didn't have 4 cups of peaches left so halved everything and shortened the baking time and it came out perfectly. I added some cinnamon to the top which I personally think added some great flavor, but I doubt it would make much of a difference if that was skipped.
Overall score: A-
There, I said it, my secret is out! I would list fresh peaches as one of my top 5 favorite things about summer, maybe even in the top 3. I will eat peaches anywhere, anytime and anyway they are prepared. Grilled peaches with marscapone cheese? I'm there! Juicy, fresh peaches? Hand them over! Peach cobbler? Heck. Yeah.
Luckily for me, my mother makes, hands down, the world's best peach cobbler. It is so good, in fact, that I have flat out refused to ever attempt my own cobbler making, instead opting to call her up and whine, beg and plead until she agrees to make me cobbler the next time I visit. Why bother with an unnecessary skill when I've got the master on speed-dial?
Unluckily for me today, there was a slight mishap in the transportation of my requested peaches from Eastern Washington and the peaches became damaged. And by "damaged" I mean "horrible bruised and totes gross". Apparently my friend put the aforementioned peaches in a Ziploc baggie and then drove the 3 hours in a warm car, not noticing the sweating going on in the bag. It was, needless to say, an epic failure on her part. (But I still love you Amandy, no worries, I will continue to grace you with my awesomeness.) (And appreciate the effort.)
That miscalculation meant I was left with roughly 2 cups of mashed, goopy peach mulch....not really canning-worthy. What to do? What to do? Suddenly, it hit me! I will attempt my very first cobbler!! All will not be lost!
Knowing that I would never be able to make a cobbler worthy of my mother's I started a search for a recipe that would at least be worthy of the pile of peach goop in my kitchen. I found a recipe on myrecipes.com that had 5 stars and 95 reviews. That would have to do!
Reading through the recipe, it appears that it originally came from Southern Living June 1997. It is an oldie, and after having made it, I can affirm it is also a goodie.
Easy Peach Cobbler
1/2 C unsalted butter
1 C all-purpose flour
2 C sugar
1 Tbsp baking power
pinch of salt
1 C milk
4 C fresh peach slices
1 Tbsp lemon juice
ground cinnamon or nutmeg (optional)
1. Melt butter in a 13x9 inch baking dish.
2. Combine flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the milk, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour batter over butter (do not stir).
3. Bring remaining 1 cup sugar, peaches and lemon juice to a boil over high heat; stirring constantly. Pour over batter (do not stir). Sprinkle with cinnamon or nutmeg, if desired.
4. Bake in 375 degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown.
Equal to my mother's? No. Damn tasty? Yep!
I didn't have 4 cups of peaches left so halved everything and shortened the baking time and it came out perfectly. I added some cinnamon to the top which I personally think added some great flavor, but I doubt it would make much of a difference if that was skipped.
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