Peach Cobbler!

Nothing says Summer like Peach Cobbler - but with the freeze that happened in late march, the Hill Country peach harvest suffered. If you notice, those ubiquitous stands that pop up around town this time of year boasting "Fredericksburg  Peaches" are this year hanging signs that say "Texas Peaches" instead.

But not to worry, as most stores are still finding sources of quality peaches - even if they have to be trucked in from distant parts of Texas. Now, I'm all for eating local, but when its Summer, I want my peaches, dammit!

Cobblers originated in the early British American colonies. English settlers were unable to make traditional suet puddings due to lack of suitable ingredients and cooking equipment, so instead covered a stewed filling with a layer of uncooked plainbiscuits or dumplings, fitted together. The origin of the name cobbler is uncertain, although it may be related to the now archaic word cobeler, meaning "wooden bowl" 

-Wikipedia

So here's my version for a great Summer Peach Cobbler (via a recipe from Allrecipes.com):

First, preheat the oven to 425...

Peel and slice 8 peaches into thin wedges (or chunks, since its pretty impossible to wedge the whole peach.)

To peel the skins, blanch the peaches by submerge each one in boiling water for about 45 seconds, then plunge them into an ice bath. the skins should come right off.

Save the pits that have peach still clinging to it (I'll explain this later)

Add 1/4 cup of white sugar, 1/4 cup of brown sugar, 1/4tsp cinnamon, 1/8tsp nutmeg, 1tsp lemon juice, and 2tsp cornstarch. toss this mixture together till the peach chunks are coated wtih the sugary slurry. 

Pour the peaches into a 2qt baking dish and bake in the oven for 10 minutes. This helps make the peaches softer and converts even more of the fruit sugars.

While the peaches are cooking, mix the dry ingredients: 1 cup of flour, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1tsp baking powder, and 1/2tsp salt.

Then cut 6 tablespoons of cold unsalted butter into the dry stuff until its the texture of coarse meal.

Add about 1/4 cup of boiling water and combine everything together.

Remove the peaches from the oven and drop spoonfuls of the batter mix over the top. 

Make up a topping with 3 tablespoons of white sugar and 1tsp of cinnamon and sprinkle over the entire cobbler.

  

Bake in the oven about 30 minutes until the topping is golden brown. About 10 minutes in, the smell of peaches and sugar will begin wafting through the kitchen. Be prepared for this. You will need to fight off the hungry hoard of people that will start drifting into the kitchen. I recommend handing them those peach pits that you saved from before. It's a fun little activity that should buy you some time.

Once finished,  serve this into bowls with your favorite ice cream.

FULL DISCLOSURE:  In making the cobbler for these pictures, I accidentally added a tablespoon of baking powder instead of a teaspoon. As soon as I dropped this amount from the measuring spoon, it hit me that it was the wrong quantity. Like slow motion I watched - unable to do anything - as the white powder plopped into the bowl with the other white ingredients in a motley melange of fail. Immediately my geek brain kicked in and I started wondering what would happen. Baking powder is a chemical leavening agent - a mixture of alkali and acid that cause a release of carbon dioxide gas in the batter. This carbon dioxide forms bubbles that allows the dough or batter to rise. But would adding too much cause a foaming mess in the oven? Would anyone even know?

Immediately I started making excuses. (It was the cat! I was distracted!) However I'm not above going back in with a spoon and scooping out the excess powder.

In the end, the batter came out fine. Perhaps a little lighter than originally anticipated, but definitely not a problem.

Just wanted you all to know.

Enjoy!