Well, here I am again. I can't believe that it's been exactly 8 months and a day since my last post. Eight. Whole. Months. That's only one month short of a full-term pregnancy! In an alternate universe (certainly not this one), I could have been an expectant daddy with little over 30 days to get ready for the most beautiful life change of his existence.
Whoa.
I just gave my head a brisk shake like they do in cartoons. Back to reality. I guess this is what happens when you give a man a job. I started a new job right at the beginning of September and I haven't had the chance to blog since. Don't get it twisted though; my head and my heart never stopped overflowing with inspiration during my blogging leave of absence. And that's why I am here today - typing these very words.
I'm back! And yes, you can call it a comeback! It's a new day at the For Food Only headquarters. Now let's talk food.
It's no secret that I am obsessed with peaches and (most) peach-flavoured things. Which is why it shames me to say I have only twice indulged in the perfection that is the peach cobbler. Both occasions were in the month of March - in the year 2013. Furthermore, they were only a week apart. It's not entirely my fault though. You see, peach cobblers are not very popular on this side of the western Atlantic. I've never seen it on the menu in any of the restaurants here in Canada. I should qualify that by saying that my claim is only limited to the admittedly small number of restaurants I've visited. The point remains though: peach cobbler is more of an American thing. In fact, from what I've gathered, it seems to be more of a Southern USA treat. I guess it just hasn't trickled up all the way to this northernmost part yet.
I have an ongoing fascination with Soul Food cuisine and peach cobbler is a standard in that cooking tradition. Obsession meets fascination and finally I am able to cross out one of the items on my Crave List.
I should make a couple of points about peach cobblers before delving into the recipe. First, I have found that there are at least three varieties of peach cobbler and the variation is strictly based on the type of crust topping. One thread of peach cobblers is laced with pie crust - usually in strips in a lattice formation. A second type dons a crumble-style topping. The third variety - which appears to be the most popular - finds its crown in a biscuit topping. Some recipes I found had the biscuit topping plopped on the peach filling in spaced-apart mounds which I find unappealing. I much prefer an even layer of biscuit crust - and that's what I chose.
My second point relates to whether to use fresh, frozen or canned peaches. I feel like they can be used interchangeably in this case. Obviously fresh peaches taste different compared to its preserved and packaged kin but it's nothing drastic. It ain't that serious. Just make sure you are using ripe peaches if you decide to go the fresh route. I used canned peaches because of their convenience.
The recipe below is the result of the amalgamation of two different recipes. As I mentioned earlier, I've had peach cobbler two times. Each one was made using a different recipe. Although the former tasted fine, I was displeased with the look and texture of the filling. I won't blame the recipe itself because I made a substitution for one of the key ingredients. The recipe called for a specific brand of dulce de leche sauce, which, going by the ingredient list, was nothing more than caramel flavoured condensed milk. I used regular condensed milk. Again it didn't taste bad (my brothers and I finished every last crumb) but I was dissatisfied with the way the milk had curdled. I loved the crust though. The other cobbler was markedly better on all counts. So in settling on a final recipe, I modelled the crust after the first recipe - again, because I loved it - and made the filling based on the second.
One last note: on sweetness. Because I used peaches that were canned in light syrup, my cobbler came out on the very sweet side. Now personally I don't mind the overly-sweetness. I may or may not have mentioned before that I have a huge sweet tooth and the cavities to prove it. But in the spirit of making healthier decisions, if I use the same kind of canned peaches in the future, I will be cutting the sugar by half. I should also reveal that I already significantly reduced the amount of sugar in my version of the second cobbler (it is a Paula Deen recipe after all). And that version is what I will be posting below.
Behold the peaches in all their glory.
Gorgeous.
Mix the sliced peaches, sugar and water together. If you are using peaches canned in juice, you can retain the juice and use it in place of the water. In the midst of it all, I didn't capture a shot of this stage but you can take a peep in the promo video for this post.
Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 10 minutes.
For the crust topping, you start with flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
Mix together.
When I made this, I melted the butter, as instructed in one of the recipes. You can take this route as well. But I would advise you to use the butter unmelted. It makes for a flakier crust.
However you decide to use the butter, mix it together with the flour mixture.
Add the milk and combine. Do not overmix the batter.
Now we put it all together. First pour the peach mixture in a baking dish.
Then follow with the batter.
Bake. And voila! You've got a peach cobbler.
Unless you've got a severe case of lactose intolerance or you’re just weird and don’t like ice cream, you HAVE to have this with a scoop – or two – of good ol’ vanilla ice cream.
Heavenly.
RECIPE: Peach Cobbler
Makes 1 9-inch cobbler
Adapted from Rodin Hood and Paula Deen
Ingredients
For filling:
- 4 cup peeled, sliced peaches (fresh, frozen or drained canned)
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup water
For topping:
- 1½ cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup sugar
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¾ cup butter
- 1 cup hot milk
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a deep 9-inch baking dish.
- Combine the peaches, sugar, and water in a saucepan and mix well. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.
- In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Blend in butter using a pastry blender or your fingers until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in milk until just combined.
- Pour cooked peach mixture into prepared dish. Drop topping over the peach mixture. Bake in preheated oven, 45 to 60 minutes or until topping is golden and a toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean.
- To serve, scoop onto a plate and serve with your choice of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
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2013
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