recipe: peach-blueberry cobbler

No, cobbler isn't pie, strictly speaking. But pie is cobbler's closest cousin.

Fruit cobblers are incredibly varied. Wikipedia has a surprisingly ridiculous entry on the dish, which features the phrase "the Slump, the Buckle, and the Sonker." Here in the US, cobbler usually features a rolled pastry, a biscuit-like pastry, or a cake-like pastry. Each has qualities to recommend it, but my recipe is for a buttery cake-like pastry, and it's delicious and really easy. The most tedious part is peeling the peaches, and there's a trick for that.



Peach-Blueberry Cobbler
You may halve this recipe and bake it in an 8" x 8" baking dish, as I did.

• 2 pounds fresh peaches, peeled and sliced*
• 1 pound blueberries (or you may just use 3 pounds of peaches)
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup whole milk

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9" x 13" baking dish.

In a large bowl, stir together the fruit, the cinnamon, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and 1/2 cup packed brown sugar. Let sit for a few minutes, then drain off about 1/3 cup of the liquid.

In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, and the remaining granulated and brown sugar. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add flour mixture to the creamed mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.

Spread the fruit into the greased pan, and gently pour batter over the top. Bake for one hour, until golden brown. Let cool for about 30 minutes, and serve with vanilla ice cream.

*To easily peel peaches, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add peaches to the water, and remove after about 30 seconds. Let the peaches cool for a minute, then use your fingers to slide the skin right off. This trick only works for fairly ripe peaches. Cooked peach skin is tough and rubbery.