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Peach Cobbler


birder53

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I've been looking at recipes for peach cobblers. Friends are coming for dinner this weekend and she always serves up a freshly baked dessert using the fruits of the season. I figured I could bake something really simple. My mixer died and the food processor is small, so the recipe needs to be something requiring neither.

There are several recipes on the food network that might work. Some require peeling the peaches and others don't. Any thoughts on this? Also, some cook the peaches first while the easiest recipes do not. Pros and cons?

When a "baking dish" is called for, is that pyrex? Help! I can put together a great dinner menu, but once the dessert calls for more than the local bakery's cannollis I'm in way over my head.

KathyM

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I've been looking at recipes for peach cobblers.  Friends are coming for dinner this weekend and she always serves up a freshly baked dessert using the fruits of the season.  I figured I could bake something really simple.  My mixer died and the food processor is small, so the recipe needs to be something requiring neither.

There are several recipes on the food network that might work.  Some require peeling the peaches and others don't.  Any thoughts on this?  Also, some cook the peaches first while the easiest recipes do not.  Pros and cons?

When a "baking dish" is called for, is that pyrex?  Help!  I can put together a great dinner menu, but once the dessert calls for more than the local bakery's cannollis I'm in way over my head.

Skin the peaches and no need to pre-cook in most cases - a little addition of cinnamon and brandy wil add just the right touch to almost any recipe you might be considering - it not already included...

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If you don't peel the peaches, the skin will sort of pull away from the fruit and get all wrinkly and unattractive. It will taste fine; but peeled peaches will make for a more attractive dessert.

To peel the peaches, just drop them in boiling water for maybe 30 seconds; then put them in a bowl of ice water. The skin will slip right off.

Pyrex will work fine for a baking dish.

Edited by Andrew Fenton (log)
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Peeling is a matter of taste. I would do it, too.

Ginger, especially freshly grated, is another good flavor for peaches. Again, a matter of taste.

As for baking dishes, Pyrex is fine. So is Corningware. Something that can go into the oven unscathed is the main thing.

If you're looking at a bunch of different recipes, narrow your selections down to the simplest ones that do not require sauteeing the peaches first--as long as they don't ask you to use cake mixes or artificial ingredients.

From that pool, compare the amount of thickener used for the fruit. I'd go for a generous amount since this is your first effort, but avoid using more than called for in any of the recipes.

Something else you might want to do is look through the "What Did You Have for Dessert?" thread and look at images of recently baked cobblers and other fruit desserts, including Ling's & Abra's galettes, for different ways to treat the surface of your cobbler.

This is perfect dessert for this time of year and one of the easiest things to bake. Remember to pick up some heavy cream to whip or some creme fraiche, sour cream or thick strained Greek yogurt depending on your taste. Then, of course, there's nothing like a scoop of ice cream next to warm cobbler. :wub:

"Viciousness in the kitchen.

The potatoes hiss." --Sylvia Plath

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How about a simple rustic looking peach tart?

You could make a simple pie dough (or use frozen puff pastry) roll it out, and place in the center some peaches that you have macerated for about 30 minutes with some sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and any other spices you like. Roll the dough into roughly a circle, pile the peaches in the center, dab some butter on the peaches, fold the dough over, will still have some peaches showing, then brush the dough with some cream,sprinkle with sugar, pop in a 375 degree oven for an hour, and you are ready for a party. If you use puff, dock the center of the rolled out dough with a fork.

As far as peeling peaches, if the peaches are perfefctly ripe, you do not need to boil to skin, just get a knife in your hand and peel.

good luck.

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Something else you might want to do is look through the "What Did You Have for Dessert?" thread and look at images of recently baked cobblers and other fruit desserts, including Ling's & Abra's galettes, for different ways to treat the surface of your cobbler.

This is perfect dessert for this time of year and one of the easiest things to bake.  Remember to pick up some heavy cream to whip or some creme fraiche, sour cream or thick strained Greek yogurt depending on your taste.  Then, of course, there's nothing like a scoop of ice cream next to warm cobbler. :wub:

I did look at the dessert thread and saw Jason's peach/blueberry cobbler courtesy of Paula Deen. Galettes are beautiful but very intimidating. Cobblers and crisps seem to be more forgiving. And you are right, nothing beats a scoop of ice cream on a warm cobbler.

The Paula Deen recipe didn't indicate the size of the cooking dish, so I passed on it. If the dish is too large the cobbler will be to thin. Too small dish would get a very thick topping. Since I don't bake I need recipes that are more specific than hers. Jason's final dessert looks wonderful!

KathyM

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How about a simple rustic looking peach tart?

You could make a simple pie dough (or use frozen puff pastry) roll it out, and place in the center some peaches that you have macerated for about 30 minutes with some sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and any other spices you like.  Roll the dough into roughly a circle, pile the peaches in the center, dab some butter on the peaches, fold the dough over, will still have some peaches showing, then brush the dough with some cream,sprinkle with sugar, pop in a 375 degree oven for an hour, and you are ready for a party.  If you use puff, dock the center of the rolled out dough with a fork.

You have greatly overestimated my abilities here. The only thing simple about pie dough for me is a frozen pie crust. There is no rolling pin in this house and I have no idea what it means to "dock" the center of the rolled out dough. Most baking around here starts with Duncan Hines! :shock:

KathyM

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Baking for just me and the kids, Birder, I wouldn't bother skinning the peaches. Baking for company, I would. (shrug) It's a personal call. They're easy enough to skin, using the technique given upthread; I do 20-30 pounds at a time when they're in season.

A word to the wise, though, if you're not used to baking cobblers you would be well-advised to stick a skewer into the middle of it to make sure the dough is fully baked. If you're unsure how to go about that, just take a large spoon and overturn part of the dough in the middle. If it's underbaked, just put it back for a while. If the crust on top is getting dark and the middle's not done, just cover it with tinfoil first.

A good choice, btw. Cobblers are supposed to look rough and uneven (always a good thing for the non-confident), and they're ever-so-simple to make.

“Who loves a garden, loves a greenhouse too.” - William Cowper, The Task, Book Three

 

"Not knowing the scope of your own ignorance is part of the human condition...The first rule of the Dunning-Kruger club is you don’t know you’re a member of the Dunning-Kruger club.” - psychologist David Dunning

 

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You have greatly overestimated my abilities here. The only thing simple about pie dough for me is a frozen pie crust. There is no rolling pin in this house and I have no idea what it means to "dock" the center of the rolled out dough. Most baking around here starts with Duncan Hines! :shock:

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Personally, I don't peel the peaches, or hardly any other fruit for that matter.  I like the added color, and in rustic dish like cobblers and crisps I don't think the loose peel is distracting at all.

SB (waiting for his yearly fix of Frog Hollow Cal Reds!) :cool:

Cal Reds - wow! Those are real beauties. The color of the skin is so pretty it seems a shame to take them off. Think rustic. :smile:

KathyM

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I peel the peaches, use a bit of tapioca (follow package directions, I think it's 2 teaspoons, but I don't have a box with me) for thickener, or cornstarch. I usually saute' them with a little butter. Flavor the peaches with any spice you like, but I like warmer spices with them..things with a little heat, like cardamon or ginger. Most people use cinnamon. a squirt of lemon freshens up the flavors. If the peaches arn't very sweet, add a little sugar (brown is fine) to taste.

I make a lazy cobbler. I just got used to how easy it is, and the kids love it so that's what I make!

In a 2 or 3 qt. cassarole dish throw in a stick of butter and put dish w/butter into a oven that you're pre-heating to 350. It doesn't have to be ready yet, just use the preheating cycle to heat the dish and melt the butter. Make a batter: Mix 1 cup self rising flour, 1 cup milk, 1 cup sugar. When butter in pan is melted, bring it out (hot) and add the batter. Pour the fruit down into the center of the batter, and put into (now heated to 350) oven. bake until batter is brown and the fruit is bubbly around the sides. about 30 minutes.The batter will rise up over the fruit and cover.

I know it seems like you should put the fruit in first, then pour batter over, but this way the batter gets all buttery, and forms a lovely crust. It will be on top, don't worry about spreading it around, you'll screw it up.

It's as easy as it gets. I usually cut back on the sugar a little, and the butter, but this is the recipe as I learned it as a teen. The rest of the family likes it 'unlightened', but I always feel a little guilty, especially when I bring out the icecream. Hope this helps.

Patty

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I've never understood adding cinnamon to peach cobbler or pie. To me, it blunts the fresh summery flavor of the peaches; makes it taste more like a canned winter peach pie. But that's personal preference, of course.

Oh, tapioca flour (available at Asian markets) makes a great thickener.

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I've never understood adding cinnamon to peach cobbler or pie.  To me, it blunts the fresh summery flavor of the peaches; makes it taste more like a canned winter peach pie.  But that's personal preference, of course.

i agree, to an extent. there are two kinds of peaches: the first really great ones you get each summer and then all the rest. The first really great ones ... well, why cook those at all? but after a while, you want to play. i like a little cinnamon, i also like a little orange liqueur (not together), and i also like a little cardamom. the operative word in all of those is "little". it's a PEACH dessert, not a peach DESSERT.

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I've always hated messing with pots of boiling water just to peel a few peaches. My preferred tactic: a vegetable peeler. That's much easier for me to deal with, if there's only half a dozen peaches that need to be peeled.

My opinion would undoubtedly change if I were going to be doing large quantities of peaches or other fruits.

MelissaH

MelissaH

Oswego, NY

Chemist, writer, hired gun

Say this five times fast: "A big blue bucket of blue blueberries."

foodblog1 | kitchen reno | foodblog2

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I can't remember the last time I cut an X in the skin of a tomato and counted as it bobbed in a large pot of boiling water before scooping it out and peeling it off in an instant. Same with plunging peaches.

The thing is, for someone who knows how to cook but is intimidated by baking, loosening the skin on summer fruit this way is a bit like magic. It's fun. If you're using the time that it takes to boil the water doing other things, it's not a big deal. Learning this kind of insider trick is reassuring; when you see it works, you're more inclined to believe that the next step will, too, and so on until the cobbler emerges, golden, from the oven.

Julia Child's instructions for making a peach tart include the same advice and opinion that Andrew offers here. The simple baked version omits spices altogether. As for compounding the intense flavor of a ripe peach with others, I have to say a perfectly poached peach, rosy after it's cooled, lightly glazed on top of creme patissiere ( with a little more vanilla or...), even with a little almond meal in the pastry, still retains its quiddity.

As for the cobbler, please tell us how it turned out. I mentioned Abra's galette in particular because of the lovely effect you get when you sprinkle sugar on top. (A special kind of decorating sugar in this case; cf. how chopped nuts look in Ling's peach galette.) You could do the same thing with your cobbler with regular sugar or coat it with an egg wash (some recipes will have instructions) or leave the surface plain.

"Viciousness in the kitchen.

The potatoes hiss." --Sylvia Plath

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Good luck, birder53! I'm sure it will come out nicely.

Glad you decided to peel the peaches; I think this is pretty standard and a good way to go.

I really like the taste of nutmeg with peaches and use this instead of cinnamon in peach pies and cobblers. Just a pinch, in either case.

A great add in to peach cobblers is raspberries, blackberries or sour cherries if you feel like trying a variation sometime.

edited to add: If you still have a question re: the baking dish, I use pyrex, nicely buttered, for baking cobblers and related dishes.

Edited by ludja (log)

"Under the dusty almond trees, ... stalls were set up which sold banana liquor, rolls, blood puddings, chopped fried meat, meat pies, sausage, yucca breads, crullers, buns, corn breads, puff pastes, longanizas, tripes, coconut nougats, rum toddies, along with all sorts of trifles, gewgaws, trinkets, and knickknacks, and cockfights and lottery tickets."

-- Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 1962 "Big Mama's Funeral"

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Well, the peach cobbler is done. For someone who doesn't bake, I boldly made changes to the recipe without knowing the consequences. It called for a shallow 1 1/2 qt baking dish. My 1 1/2 qt dish is not shallow. I also had a lot of peaches, so I decided to use a larger but shallower dish. I added peaches and then decided to add blueberries as well. It came out kind of soupy because there wasn't any cornstarch or other thickener called for. The topping wasn't that interesting and probably was meant to be thicker than how it ended up. I also forgot to add the vanilla to the fruit mixture :wacko: .

In the end, it was warm, sweet and perfect with vanilla ice cream. It was served in bowls instead of plates because of the soupy nature of it, but that was just fine.

It wasn't very difficult, but it wasn't anything to write home about either. It didn't help that I limited recipes to those that didn't require a mixer or rolling pin or food processer. Will I try again, I'm not sure. Not being a big dessert fan anyway, I'm probably not the best one to get involved with baking. I appreciate all the support from everyone here. I actually almost bought a pastry set at BB&B yesterday, but then I said "What are you doing??" and I walked away.

KathyM

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Awesome, your next creation can only be better than the first. Look how much you learned! Do it again, make some notes on your findings. Find some unwitting guinea pi...I mean nice people to feed it too. I like almond extract in peach cobbler too. Try some Saigon cinnamon next time maybe. Put the vanilla in the crust.

There's lots of stuff you can make & bake without electrical equipment. Rice Krispie treats are only as limited as your imagination. This time of year coming up, I might use a leaf cookie cutter and cut some out and dip them in different colored choco for a changing fall leaf, mash the cookie cutter into the rkt with a small cutting board or frying pan (if you stand on a step you can use your weight to advantage). Use any cookie cutter you got. You could make a great monster face for Halloween with a cookie cutter and candies. Or a ghost would be cool out of any kind of cookie. Oval cookie, ragged bottom edge, two beady eyes, viola a ghost.

Umm, cupcakes are endlessly entertaining and can be whipped up sans electrics, umm, brownies have many variations, shortbread cookies (that reminds me I gotta post a recipe)

There's some stuff you can do without electrics, umm, not to mention coffee cakes and quick breads and cinnamon rolls. And candies...truffles, brittles, fudge...

Mmmmyeah, no excuses, more more!! :laugh:

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bit late but...

method for cobbler:

Take fresh, ripe, freestone peaches. I use about 8 for a 9*13 pyrex cake pan. You may peel them (as previously instructed in this thread), or you can cut them into slices and leave them. I usually just cut them into slices.

Put the slices into the pan (you can butter it first if you're feeling ambitious), and sprinkle them with sugar. I usually go with about 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of sugar. Now sprinkle the peaches with lemon juice. I use the juice of 1/2 lemon. If you don't keep lemons as a pantry staple, it's fine without lemon juice too. If I feel ambitious, I'll zest the lemon and add it in with the peaches. If you like cinnamon, ginger (fresh or dried), nutmeg, allspice or whatever, you can add that now too. Stick your pan of peaches in the fridge, and let 'em sit. They can sit quite happily uncovered for up to 8 hours or so, I haven't tried it for longer. You can add a teaspoon or so of salt to the peaches too, I usually don't bother.

For the cobbler top, I'm of the school that says cobblers are properly made with drop biscuits as the topping. So I use my standard drop biscuit recipe and add a bit of sugar to it, and call it good. If you don't have a standard drop biscuit recipe, mine is:

1 3/4 c flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

4-6 tbsp butter, chilled

use a pastry blender or two knives to blend the dry ingredients with the butter. You want the texture to range between about thumbnail sized lumps to fine powder, with the medium sized lumps being about pea size. It's ok if they're mostly thumb size too, mixing it too much is a graver sin than not mixing it enough. optional: you can freeze the mixture at this point for up to about 1 hr, to get a more delicate texture

add 1 cup of milk and stir briskly until all the dry ingredients are incorporated.

Now grab the baking dish of peaches and drop lumps of dough over the surface. Don't fuss about it. If there's a nice mix of peaches and dough showing, it's fine.

Stick in the oven and bake at 450F until the biscuit topping is done and the peaches are done. The biscuit topping is done when they're golden brown and a tester inserted in 'em doesn't come out covered with wet dough. The peaches are done when the scent of peaches is thick enough to cut. Usually this happens at about the same time. If it doesn't, I'd consider blackened biscuits a graver fault than undercooked peaches. Use your judgement tho, your peaches may be less ripe than mine :).

You *can* add thickener, you can use electrical equipment to make prep faster. But really, this is an old fashioned fast dessert from a farm kitchen. 150 years ago, there were no electronic conveniences to make this faster. And really, the electronic convenieces don't make this faster if you know what you're doing.

Emily

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Hey Birder53,

Glad the cobbler came out well. As you saw, if you start with good peaches, it's just about impossible to make something that isn't tasty. And if in the future you develop a sweet tooth, you can have a lot of fun playing around with variations...

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I can't remember the last time I cut an X in the skin of a tomato and counted as it bobbed in a large pot of boiling water before scooping it out and peeling it off in an instant.  Same with plunging peaches.

The thing is, for someone who knows how to cook but is intimidated by baking, loosening the skin on summer fruit this way is a bit like magic.  It's fun.  If you're using the time that it takes to boil the water doing other things, it's not a big deal.  Learning this kind of insider trick is reassuring; when you see it works, you're more inclined to believe that the next step will, too, and so on until the cobbler emerges, golden, from the oven.

Julia Child's instructions for making a peach tart include the same advice and opinion that Andrew offers here.  The simple baked version omits spices altogether.  As for compounding the intense flavor of a ripe peach with others, I have to say a perfectly poached peach, rosy after it's cooled, lightly glazed on top of creme patissiere ( with a little more vanilla or...), even with a little almond meal in the pastry, still retains its quiddity. 

As for the cobbler, please tell us how it turned out.  I mentioned Abra's galette in particular because of the lovely effect you get when you sprinkle sugar on top.  (A special kind of decorating sugar in this case; cf. how chopped nuts look in Ling's peach galette.)  You could do the same thing with your cobbler with regular sugar or coat it with an egg wash (some recipes will have instructions) or leave the surface plain.

This was just beau-ti-ful. And I wondered if anyone was gonna mention vanilla.

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  • 4 years later...

I tend to like peach crisp way better than cobbler...I find most cobblers too doughy. To make a crisp, don't bother peeling the fruit, slice it into a gratin dish large enough to hold the fruit in a shallow layer. Season the fruit as you like--cinnamon, ginger, allspice, or just fruit. Sprinkle a few tablespoons sugar atop the sliced fruit. Mix equal parts softened butter, brown sugar, flour, oatmeal, and chopped nuts (almonds are esp nice) to form coarse crumbs. Again, add spices if you like. Spread the crumbs over the fruit and bake at 375-400 until browned. (You can toss in a handful of blueberries or raspberries atop the peaches before adding the crumbs, for color & flavor.)

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