Peach Cobbler

I recently found some mysterious peaches at the grocery store.  I say "mysterious" because though they were big and beautiful looking, they were as hard as rocks and had no smell whatsoever.  That makes me very suspicious.  So I bought just a couple to try them out.  I let them ripen a bit and they were DELICIOUS!  Mr. Clever Mom and the clever girl went on and on about the delicious peaches, and demanded that I purchase more!  Of course the delicious peaches made my baking urges turn on full force to PEACH COBBLER.  Ahhh.

Then I had to find the right recipe.  I don't have a "throw down" peach cobbler recipe so I did a little research and decided upon one from Cooks Illustrated.  Yum.  You let the peaches macerate with sugar for a while before cooking them on their own, so they are nice and juicy and sweet.  Then you make the biscuit-y topping, put it on the peaches and stick that baby back in the oven.  Now the biscuits get nice and browned and slightly softened on the bottoms from the peaches, but they don't get mushy.

Peach Cobbler
adapted from Cooks Illustrated

Ingredients:
Peaches:
2 1/2 lbs peaches
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 TB lemon juice
pinch table salt

Biscuits:
1 cup flour
3 TB sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 T cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1/3 cup plain whole milk yogurt
1 teaspoon sugar

Instructions:
Set a rack in the lower middle of the oven, and preheat the oven to 425F.

Peel, halve and pit the peaches.  Scoop out and discard the dark flesh from around the pit.  Cut each half into 4 wedges.  Gently toss the peaches and sugar together in a large bowl and let stand for 30 minutes, tossing several times.  Drain the peaches in a colander set over a bowl to catch the juice.  Whisk 1/4 cup of the drained juice, cornstarch, lemon juice and salt together in a small bowl.  Toss the peach juice mixture with the peaches and transfer to an 8-inch square baking dish.  Bake until the peaches begin to bubble around the edge - approximately 10 minutes.

While the peaches are baking, pulse the flour, 3 TB sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a food processor to combine.   Scatter the butter over the mixture and pulse until it resembles a coarse meal, about 10 1-second pulses.  Transfer to a medium bowl and add the yogurt, gently stirring with a rubber spatula until a cohesive dough is formed.  Do not over-mix.  Break the dough until 6 evenly sized mounds and set aside. 

After the peaches have baked about 10 minutes, remove from the oven and place the dough mounds on top, spacing them about 1/2 of an inch apart (no touching!). Sprinkle the dough mounds with the remaining 1 teaspoon sugar.  Bake until the biscuit topping is golden and the peaches are bubbling - approximately 16-18 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack until warm, about 20 minutes. 
Printable Recipe

This was delicious.  A total hit.  I think it tastes just like summer.  Plus it was really fast to put together, which is a necessity for me these days!  Do you have a favorite peach cobbler recipe?  Please share in your comments!

Mr. Clever Mom and the clever girl loved it.  And they wanted to know what else I might make with these delicious peaches...  Stay tuned for more!