Cobblers are such a homey little hug of a dessert.
I remember never being all that impressed with them as a kid. They seemed like such a Betsy home-ec thing to make. Something eternally stuck in a bygone era — like lime Jell-O with Cool Whip. Not to mention being scarred by versions using canned peaches and Bisquick, resulting in a gooey mess that smelled like an elementary school cafeteria.
This is an entirely different beast.
Peaches are at their juiciest right now, soft and drippy and sweet as a summer evening. A hint of lemon with a crisp, airy biscuit atop makes for a perfect cobbler for a warm September evening. Inspired by a collection of old and new recipes, caterer and bake Meloni Courtway knows a thing or two about cobblers, recently having made 40 for a summer event. Here’s her can’t-miss recipe…
(PS: Meloni will be taking her baking skills to Olympia’s Orchard on Sept. 12 and Two Rock Ranch on Sept. 19 for Apple Pie workshops teaching the secrets to a perfect crust and all picking. Visiting TwoRockRanch.com for details.)
Perfect Peach Cobbler
recipe by Meloni Courtway
Serves 15
3 pounds peaches, peeled and pitted
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Juice of 1 lemon + two teaspoons lemon juice
Zest of half lemon
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup plain yogurt (not non-fat or low-fat)
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 stick unsalted butter melted and cooled
Heat oven to 350 degrees.Generously butter a large casserole dish. Peel and pit peaches. Slice into fairly large chunks. Place peaches, 1 1/4 cups sugar, cornstarch juice of 1 lemon and zest into large bowl. Toss gently to coat, using a wooden spoon. You will be tempted to pull out several slippery peaches and pop them into your mouth at this point. Go for it.
Place sliced peaches in buttered casserole dish and into oven to heat until the juices begin to run – roughly 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine yogurt, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, and melted butter. Stir to combine. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Pulse briefly with paddle attachment. Add butter mixture to flour and pulse slowly to just combine. Do not over mix. This can all be done by hand as well.
Pull hot peaches from oven. Dollop tablespoons of the sticky dough over the hot peaches, distributing equally. It will look like drop biscuits. There will be gaps where fruit shows through – this is good, as the dough will rise!
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Serve warm or re-warmed later the same day with vanilla ice cream!
