Peach Cobbler

"...Well I dig you Georgia peaches,
                makes me feel right at home.."
                                                                      ~Call Me The Breeze, Lynyrd Skynyrd

I hope everyone is having a great summer ~ the weather has been awesome, and as an Upstate New Yorker, I'm outside enjoying it as much as possible before the cold "you know what" starts flying once again. I love being busy, and July has definitely been the month for that.  I'm also happy with my food choices lately. Grilling outside has allowed me to eat healthier (grilled veggies rule!), and my afternoon treat has become iced coffee in lieu of ice cream.  So, since it is summer, and I've been really good, I just had to bake one of my most-loved summer desserts.

When I was little, one of my favorite things to eat were Del Monte Cling Peaches. I could literally devour a whole can of them, (even though they were swimming in "heavy syrup", which I drank, whatever that was... eww.)

Now that I'm all grown up, (most of the time), I try to shop organic and logical. The fresh peaches in the market the other day were as big as softballs, and I just couldn't resist! This recipe is fast and easy, but the trick is to be sure the peaches are ripe. Tossing them in a paper bag overnight on the counter usually does the trick. So, enough conversation, are you ready?  ;)

Peach Cobbler
(serves 4)
(print)

4 large ripe peaches
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Crumb Topping:

1/4 cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons chilled butter
4 tablespoons flour

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Grease a baking dish (I use stoneware), with a bit of softened butter, then sprinkle the bottom with a pinch or two of sugar.

Give the peaches a good, cold rinse, then pat dry with paper towels.

Now, the choice is yours whether to peel them or not. I happen to have very fussy people in my house that have issues with peach fuzz, so I choose to peel them. If they're really ripe, they peel easily.

First, halve the peaches.

Take out the pit and cut them into quarters.  The skins should come right off with a small paring knife.

Now cut them again.  Don't they remind you of childhood (without the heavy syrup)?

When finished, you'll have a nice, big pan of juicy peaches. Give them a dusting of cinnamon.

Keep the peaches right in the pan and add: 1 tablespoon each of butter and sugar, then the extract. You don't want to cook this, you just want to glaze the peaches and melt the butter and sugar.

Heat through until warm. The peaches will look smooth and glossy (and smell wonderful!)

Gently spoon the peaches into your prepared baking dish.

Now for the crumb topping (very easy~)...

I used the saucepan the peaches were in to mix up the ingredients. Combine all the topping ingredients...

then use a pastry blender, or two knives to cut the chilled butter into little pieces and blend it all together.

The butter should be the size of small peas. Sprinkle this all over the top of the warm peaches evenly.

Pop it into the oven, and set the timer for 30 minutes.

You want it to be golden and bubbly!

If you really want to treat yourself, serve this warm with a scoop of Ben and Jerry's Peach Cobbler ice cream.  (Did I mention there are little pieces of cinnamon shortbread in the ice cream?) No, I didn't say that because I don't want to tempt you! (But try it!! It's sooo good..)

20 minutes later....

Okay, I went back downstairs after writing this post, and the cobbler is gone. Sometimes actions speak louder than words...  :)