Peach Cobbler, The Lazy Girl's Pie

Today is a pie party! Thanks to Shauna Ahern, the Gluten Free Girl, bloggers, bakers and home cooks across the country are sharing their pie recipes today. Search for "pie party" on Facebook and you'll see what I mean. You will find all kinds of insipiration -- fruit pies, custard pies, nut pies, gluten-free pies, vegan pies, extremely non-vegan pies -- pies. Since I made a pie yesterday for our Fourth of July festivities, I thought I would join in on the fun.



Peach cobbler served warm with ice cream -- my favorite!



For some reason, many years ago, baking a peach cobbler on the Fourth of July became a tradition for me. Maybe it's because peaches are perfectly in season here in Georgia. Maybe it's because peach cobbler is an excellent foundation for a scoop of vanilla ice cream on a hot summer day. Maybe it's because it's a Georgia version of "American as apple pie." I'm not sure, but when I think of the Fourth, I think of peach pie.

Cobbler is the perfect pie for me, let's call it the lazy girl's pie. There's little mixing, no rolling, crimping, layering -- none of that business. The hardest part it holding on the slippery peeled peaches while you cut them into slices. Many cobblers have a biscuit topped crust, and apparently its "cobbled" appearance gave cobbler its name. The deep dish pie traces its roots back to Colonial America where it was prepared in Dutch ovens over an open fire. So maybe it is more patriotic to eat cobbler instead of pie on the Fourth of July since it is truly an American dish!

There are many different varations on cobbler and it's adaptable to almost any fruit. You may also see it called a slump, grunt or pandowy. Some have rolled crusts, others a drop biscuit type topping. The recipe I use is based on my Grandmama's simple recipe -- you can probably find it in every Southern church cookbook under the sun. It's the version where you just dump everything in the pan and let the crust rise over the fruit. The end result is gooey, buttery, peachiness with a cake-like crust. Did I mention, it's magic?

This:

Turns into this:

Easy Peach Cobbler

1/2 cup butter

1 cup all-purpose flour (I used 1/2 cup plain, 1/2 cup white whole wheat)

1 cup sugar, divided

1 tablespoon baking powder

Salt (just a pinch)

1 cup milk

1 tsp. vanilla

4 cups fresh peach slices

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Ground cinnamon or nutmeg (optional)

Melt butter in a 13- x 9-inch baking dish or a round deep dish casserole. Combine flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt; add milk and vanilla, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour batter over butter (do not stir). In a separate bowl, mix together 1/2 cup sugar, peach slices, and lemon juice; pour over batter (do not stir). Sprinkle with cinnamon or nutmeg, if desired. Bake at 375° for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown.

* A note about peaches. Use the ripest and sweetest ones you can find. If you find that your peaches are a little tart, add 1/2 cup more sugar to your sliced peaches before pouring the mixture over the batter.

 

Enjoy, and Happy Pie Day!