Dee's Famous Peach Cobbler
Cameo Culinary Club - Dee's Famous Peach Cobbler
Warmer weather is just around the corner, and what better way to welcome spring than with the sun-ripened juiciness of peaches? Cobbler weather is finally here! Okay—so there's no such thing as "cobbler weather," but do you really need an excuse to make one of the most crowd-pleasing desserts on the planet? This month's peach cobbler recipe may be a cinch to make, but back in the days of the early settlers, it wasn't quite so easy breezy. Cobbler is actually a product of the early British American colonies, who were dismayed to learn that their native U.K. dessert, suet pudding, would be nearly impossible to whip up in America thanks to the lack of required ingredients and cooking equipment. And so, like the restaurant patron that rolls with the punches and orders chicken when the waiter announces they're out of steak, the Brits set to work concocting a new dessert. They covered a fruity, gloppy stew with stale biscuits and the end result was, well... nobody asked for seconds. But the dessert was fine tuned and perfected, eventually becoming the delicious treat we all know and love. In America today, varieties of cobbler now include the Betty, the Grump, the Slump, the Dump, the Buckle, and the Sonker (with some varieties sounding infinitely more appetizing than others). Cobblers most often appear in single fruit varieties, with blackberry, blueberry, and peach continually ranking as America's favorite flavors. The Deep South tradition also gives cobbler fans the option of topping the dessert with vanilla ice cream (and I know what you're thinking: I'm way ahead of them on that one). As our Southern belle friends would say:
Enjoy, y'all! - Cameo Girls
Ingredients:
1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
2 teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups milk
1 teaspoon almond extract, divided
2 pounds peaches, peeled and sliced (about 4 cups)
Directions:
- Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Put butter in a 13-by-9-inch baking pan. Set in oven to melt.
- Meanwhile, whisk flour, 1 ½ cups sugar, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. Whisk in milk and ½ teaspoon almond extract until smooth.
- Toss peaches with remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar and ½ teaspoon almond extract.
- When butter has melted, remove pan from oven.
- Pour batter into pan and arrange fruit over batter.
- Bake until batter turns golden brown (45 to 50 minutes).
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
- You can also serve cobbler with vanilla ice cream or lightly sweetened whipped cream.