Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Peach Cobbler for a Crowd

We had the pleasure of spending several days at the ranch last week. 
The flood waters have finally subsided, leaving the lakes full and the vegetation lush.
But this is Texas and it is June, that means it's also hot.
So while we're fishing, our beloved Dixie decided to go for a dip.
That crazy dog swam back and forth for a good fifteen minutes.
Can't say I blame her, though. I was half tempted to jump in myself.

This time of year in Texas also means, peaches. And peach cobbler.
 Normally, I use fresh peaches, but the grocery store I went to only had California peaches and they were hard as rock. Not good for cobbler.
So, realizing I didn't have time to run by the market that had local peaches, I opted to go with frozen peaches. I'll discuss the results later.

Okay, let's get started by preheating the oven to 400 degrees.

While the oven is heating, to 3 - 16oz bags of peaches (that would equate to 6-8 cups of sliced fresh peaches) I added:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
If I were using fresh peaches, I would have also added a couple teaspoons of lemon juice, but the frozen variety already have ascorbic acid to prevent browning.

The butter decided to photo bomb the other ingredients.

Pour the dry ingredients over the peaches and toss until the peaches are coated.
Since the peaches were frozen, much of the dry stuff sifted to the bottom, but that's only.

Now pour the peach mixture into a buttered baking dish and set aside while you make the topping.

Mix together:
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder

Then cut in 2/3 cup COLD unsalted butter that's been cubed.
It should look like course meal.
Now add 5-6 tablespoons milk and combine until everything comes together.

Because there's so much butter in this dough, the easiest way to roll it out is between 2 sheets of plastic wrap. 
You simply peel off the top sheet, lay the dough atop the peach mixture, then peel off the other sheet.
Why do I have two separate sheets of dough?
Because while I doubled my recipe for the peaches, I forgot to do it for my dough and had to make a second batch.
The ingredients I listed above are for a double batch.

What I did here is a very rustic version. But you could cut the dough into strips and do a lattice top or, say for the 4th of July, you could use a star-shaped cookie cutter and line the top with stars.

For this version, I cut a few slits in the top, then baked for 30-35 minutes, until the top is golden and the peaches are bubbling.
 Served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream is darn near perfection.

 Now, about those frozen peaches. Passable, but not near as good as fresh. While most of the slices were tender, some weren't ripe to begin with and were still hard, even after baking.
That said, I didn't hear any complaints from those who partook in this seasonal treat. Matter of fact, most of them went back for seconds.

Bottom line, fresh is always best, but frozen works, too.

One last shot of Walnut Hill lake, one of our favorite spots.

Believe it or not, that downed tree is partially submerged, but the reflection makes it look as though it's hovering above the water.
Nature at it's best.

10 comments:

  1. Yummy!!! And as I said on Facebook. We have the same dishes.

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    1. And as I meant to reply to,you on FB, Tina, you are obviously a woman who spares no expense when it comes to the finer things in life. ;-)

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  2. Envious sigh. No fresh peaches here until mid August. We get peaches shipped from the states the rest of the year but like you said, they are always hard and taste like wood. I wonder if canned peaches would work instead of the frozen? But, my, there's nothing like a fresh juicy peach.

    Love the pictures. What gorgeous scenery! And I'm always happy to catch up with the pups. :-)

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    1. Kav, I have known people to use canned peaches. Though I never have tried it, I guess the key would be not baking them as long or they might get mushy. Frozen would be closer to fresh, though.

      You know I post those puppy pics just for you. Plus they're just some arm cute. :-D

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  3. Ah, peaches.

    I was really surprised when I went to the farmer's market on Saturday to see the first local peaches. Especially because we have had such a cold spring.
    Alas, my enthusiasm waned on Sunday. Those pretty peaches all turned brown overnight.

    ?????

    Best I can tell, lots of thumbs squeezing them left bruises. :(

    I hear you on the frozen ones. Earlier this year when I was reading Linda Goodnight's The Memory House, I was so desperate for peaches that I bought frozen. Yuck!! Roasted with a sprinkle of sugar made them palatable, but there's nothing like fresh.

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    1. Our peaches were in early this year, Mary Cate, but then, we had no winter. I was so afraid when I heard that the peach blossoms were out back in early March, I believe, that we'd finally get a freeze and kill them all. Luckily, that didn't happen. And I guarantee you that the next batch of cobbler I make will be with FRESH peaches.

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  4. Hey, y'all! I'm still alive! But still unpacking. So I'm not blogging much. I'll be back soon, though! Once we get our son married off. :)

    Mindy, this looks so yummy! And that tree does look as if it's magically hovering! LOL

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    1. I thought that was a pretty cool shot, Missy. It was so pretty out there. I just kept thinking that soon I'll be able to see that everyday.

      Just hearing about all your packing and unpacking makes me dread moving, though. Guess I don't have much choice.

      Enjoy the wedding. Savor the moment. And then start bugging them about grandkids. :P

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  5. Oh my stars, this is such an inviting spot, Mindy-O!!!! It's gorgeous, and how much fun it will be to just live there. Delightful!!!!

    Isn't getting ripe peaches that have great peachy flavor a trick? And yes, the frozen don't do it.... canned don't do it.... but I bet it was delicious in any case!!!

    When we moved with 6 kids, I said the next move would involve one box: My coffin. I'm staying put.

    Now whether or not that's true, it's not on my bucket list to move! That's all I'm sayin'....

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    1. Ruthy, I dread the thought of moving. Which, in some ways, will actually be two moves. One out of our current house and into storage, the second when renovations are complete on the new house and we bring stuff in from storage. Sigh. I think I have a headache now.

      Peaches are tricky. One key is to get locally grown, if you can. That said, I've taasted some blah local ones and some excellent ones that were shipped in. Go figure. All I know is for sure is that they need yielding, but not too soft.

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