As a kid, summer was my favorite time of year. Not just because school was out, but because I would spend most of my summer break in Georgia at my Grandparents’ house. My siblings and I had free rein hundreds of acres. We built forts, picked blackberries, played hide-and-go-seak, and occasionally in the late afternoons, we would spot deer grazing on the peanut plants in the fields. This place was magical.
One thing was for sure; we never went hungry. Depending on the hunting season, my grandfather would bring home turkey or venison. The vegetable garden was always rotated with the season’s freshest; squash, black-eyed peas, or green beans. The smell of warm cornbread and yeast rolls would let us know dinner was ready, and we would come hungry. And is any dinner complete without dessert? My Grandfather’s favorite was orange sorbet, but the real pièce de résistance was my grandmother’s cobber. If we were able to collect enough blackberries, she would use those, but peaches were more plentiful. My favorite memories as a kid are of me standing on my step stool next to my grandmother, helping her cook. I can still hear the pot rattling and the smell of gravy bubbling like lava on the stove. More than anything, my Nana loved to bake. As long as she had flour and sugar in her pantry, she could whip up a delicious dessert. During the summer season, peach cobbler was always a must.
I haven’t been able to visit my Nana since February; when her living community stopped allowing visitors due to COVID. This has me reflecting on the memories I was so lucky to make as a kid. Since I can’t see her right now, I figured I would make a peach cobbler in her honor.
Full disclosure, the recipe I used is not a coveted bake sale, blue-ribbon-winning, heavily guarded, secret family recipe. I don’t have any of those in my family. Thank goodness, because I would definitely lose it. The recipe I used can be found HERE.
The peach to cake ratio is way off for me. This recipe calls for eight peaches. How!?!? I used three, and in the end, the topping was barely enough to cover the top. Also, the topping is more of a biscuit constancy, and this is not my preferred style of “southern” cobbler. Moral of the story, be mindful of what your expectations are for this cobbler. If you like equal cake to peach, you may want to double the topping. I’ll step down from my soapbox now.
Step One: Cover those peaches in sugar.
Combine in a bowl:
3 – 8 Peaches, Sliced
¼ cup – White Sugar
¼ cup – Brown Sugar
¼ teaspoon – Cinnamon
¼ teaspoon – Nutmeg
¼ teaspoon – Lemon (I used lime because that’s what I had. Still worked!)
¼ teaspoon – Corn Starch
I bake and cook everything in my Lodge cast iron skillet. It’s easy one-pan no-fuss cooking. Once everything is combined, load up the skillet. In a preheated oven, bake at 425°F for 10 minutes.
Step Two: Construct the crispy crust.
Combine in a bowl:
1 cup – Flour
¼ cup – White Sugar
¼ cup – Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon – Baking Powder
½ teaspoon – Salt
6 tablespoons – Chilled Butter
Now use the two mixers God gave you (your hands) and combine everything. Rolling up my sleeves transported me back to cooking with my Nana again; she always believed in getting your hands dirty.
The texture should feel coarse. After crust ingredients are combined, mix in ¼ cup of hot water to the coarse crust mixture. Adding the water will turn the mixture into a dough consistency.
Step Three: Marry everything together
Combine in a bowl:
3 tablespoons – White Sugar
1 teaspoon -Cinnamon
Beeeeeppp Beeeeppp. The timer for your peaches should be going off by now, and your house filled with the smell of sweet, warm peaches. Remove the peach goodness from the oven and place the dough mixture on top. I tried to make the dough as even as possible, but really whatever you want will taste great. Lastly, sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture all over the top of the dough. I only used half, and oh boy am I glad I did! It would have been overkill to use it all.
Put your carefully crafty masterpiece back in the oven and bake for an additional 30 minutes or until the top is nice and golden. It may be hard to tell when the crust is done due to the cinnamon sprinkled on top. I would suggest checking it around 20 – 25 minutes.
If you’re making this to impress someone, this cobbler is best served while it’s still hot. Maybe throw in a scoop of high-quality vanilla ice cream. Trust me, your guest will be impressed. If you’re lucky enough to have leftovers and you find yourself eating it in bed, in pajamas, while watching the latest Real Housewives. It will be an excellent late-night snack.
So now that your mouth is watering, what’s a dessert that brings back memories from your childhood? Is there a particular dish that teleports you across space and time??
As an aside, are you a fan of cooking and baking in cast iron skillets? It’s my favorite one-pan wonder. Would you like to see more of me using my cast iron skillet?
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