Peach cobbler is another recipe that my Mom would make for dessert when I was growing up. It was simple and inexpensive, yet delicious and full of homemade goodness! It’s also a recipe that she never wrote down, so my sister and I shared our memories of this recently. We believe she used canned peaches in heavy syrup – I’m pretty sure she didn’t add any additional sugar, since my Dad would have thought this was sweet enough! He was very picky about his sweets, so my Mom often adapted this preference to her baking. We remember she added cinnamon, as we could smell this when it was in the oven. She also added a thickener, which I think was corn starch, but it could have been flour – just a tablespoon I’m sure. The best part for me – was her topping on this dish. She used homemade pie crust! There was something about the baked pie crust outside, yet the gooey dough underneath! She placed the dough in long strips in a woven pattern on top of the peaches. Perhaps observing her doing this technique was the start of my creativity with food! Once this dish came out of the oven, it was lightly golden brown, and bubbly from the peach juice!! Sooo good!!
For me – recreating peach cobbler was a labor of love, but also a desire to improve on the dish I remember. I chose to use frozen peaches, but you could also use fresh, sliced peaches. They will create their own juice as they cook down, so I didn’t add any extra liquid. I used a little lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and chose to add some flour as my thickener. I did add sugar – both granulated, and brown sugar for a nice, syrup like taste and quality. I used my own pie dough recipe, enough for a 2-crust pie. This made for a perfect woven crust, just like my Mom made! I brushed it with milk, and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. Into the oven for 45 – 50 min at 350.
Recipe ingredients:
Pie dough for 2 crust pie
3 – 1 lb bags frozen sliced peaches
Juice of 1/2 lemon (1-2 tsp)
1/2 c granulated sugar
1/2 c packed light brown sugar
1 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Milk to brush over the pie dough
cinnamon and sugar for sprinkling on top
Preheat oven to 350.
Pour lightly thawed peaches into a 13″ X 9″ pan. Drizzle with lemon juice. Combine sugars, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg into a small bowl. Stir to blend, then pour over peaches evenly. (If you prefer, you can mix all of these ingredients together in a large bowl, then pour into the pan).
Prepare your pie dough, and roll out to about 14″ long, and 1/4″ thick. Cut into long strips, about 1″ wide, and 14″ long. Place these strips across and lengthwise over the peaches, starting in the center. Then “weave” the rest of the strips, one at a time as illustrated. The strips should go over and under, every other strip. Trim and tuck the ends in when completed.
Brush with milk using a pastry brush, then sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.
Place the pan toward the top of the oven, to bake the crust. Bake for 45 – 50 min, at 350 degrees, til lightly browned and bubbly.
Cool slightly – this is best when served warm! Top with a scoop of vanilla icecream.
