Peach Cobbler

The peach season is just about over in our area, but we were able to buy a 1/2 bushel of O Henrys last week.  And although we've done a pretty good job of eating them out of hand and even sharing a lot of them, there are still a quite a few left.

My sister made a wonderful cobbler a month or so ago and I begged for the recipe.  It seems it originally came from Southern Living magazine and I've decided that it's definitely the butter that makes it so good.  The peaches go on top of the batter but then they sink down into the crunchy, buttery batter.

It was dark when I finally pulled the cobbler out of the oven and the photo didn't do it justice.  It was beyond delicious.

Mom and Dad came by to drop off the last of the ark animals and helped us eat the cobbler.  It was sweet and crunchy good even without ice cream; we didn't bother to wait until we could rustle some up.  If peaches are already out of season in your area, apples or any stone fruit would be a fabulous substitution.

Fresh Peach Cobbler

Recipe adapted from Southern Living, June 1997

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar, divided into 3/4 cup each

1 tbsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

1 cup milk

4 cups (about 4 large) fresh yellow peaches, cut into slices

1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1/4 tsp. lemon zest

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt butter in a large baking dish or dutch oven.

Combine flour, 3/4 cup sugar, baking powder and kosher salt in a medium bowl. Add milk and stir just until dry ingredients are incorporated. Without stirring, pour batter over melted butter.

Heat remaining 3/4 cup sugar, fresh peach slices, lemon juice, lemon zest, cinnamon and nutmeg over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Cook until sugar has melted and all ingredients are fully mixed. Without stirring, pour the peach mixture over the batter. Don’t worry: the crust will form over the peaches during baking. Sprinkle cobbler crust with additional cinnamon or nutmeg, if desired.

Bake cobbler for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown. Serve cobbler with Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream, if desired.