Friday, July 10, 2009

Recipe: Fresh peach cobbler, easier than pie

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Okay, I admit it: I am scared of pie crust. Actually, if I'm being perfectly honest, I am scared of almost anything that involves a rolling pin and floured countertops and the possibility that the dough will get tough if you work it too much. Which leaves me pretty stymied when it comes to pies, tarts, galettes, and many varieties of cookies.

Yes, I will get over this fear. At some point. But at least, for now, I always have the cobbler.

This recipe involves peaches, but the method has worked well for me with many different kinds of fruit. The bottom is easy: fruit, sugar, a little cornstarch or flour to thicken things up. The topping is a variation on a basic no-roll biscuit recipe my college roommate Ellen got from her mother for her wedding. It's an old family recipe that requires no butter, comes together in about three minutes, and can be made sweet or savory. It's one of my most treasured bits of paper.

Easy fresh peach cobbler
  • 6 large or 10 small peaches, cut into chunks
  • 3/4 cup sugar, divided
  • 2 cups plus 3 Tbsp flour, divided
  • juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1/3 cup canola oil (substitute melted butter if you like)
  • 2/3 cup plain yogurt
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Toss the peaches with 1/4 cup sugar and 3 Tbsp flour, and the lemon juice in a bowl. Let sit about 3o minutes. Mix again, then pour into a baking dish which you've coated with cooking spray.

While the peaches are sitting, make the topping: Whisk together the remaining flour and sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. In a measuring cup, pour the oil and spoon in the yogurt (the oil first up to the 1/3 cup mark, then the yogurt until it reaches the 1 cup mark). Whisk them together a bit, then pour into the dry ingredients. Mix it all together with a spatula or wooden spoon. When the dough has come together, knead it a few times in the bowl with one hand.

Pinch off globs of the dough and scatter them on top of the fruit. Sprinkle with a little extra sugar if you like, or not. Bake the cobbler about 45 minutes or until the fruit is bubbling furiously and the biscuit topping is golden brown. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream, or on its own.

6 comments:

Sarah said...

This looks delicious! Have you ever tried it with soy yogurt? I'd like to make this for a gathering that includes vegans. Also, is the biscuit topping more moist, like chicken and biscuits, or drier, like baked biscuits? Thanks!

Erika Kerekes said...

I'm sure it would work well with soy yogurt; although I haven't tried it in this particular recipe, I do bake with soy yogurt often, and it's usually fine.

The biscuits are dry on top, liked baked biscuits, but the bottom, where they're touching the fruit, is nice and moist.

Let me know how it turns out!

Unknown said...

Simple and delicious.Thank you. :)

Unknown said...

Simple and delicious.Thank you. :)

Unknown said...

Can you use canned peaches?

Erika Kerekes said...

@Unknown sure. If they are canned in syrup, drain the syrup and skip adding the sugar in the first step. If they are canned in juice, drain them and proceed as written.

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