Friday, September 28, 2007

Peach Cobbler

Making the most of the last peaches of the season

Peach Cobbler: Served

The peach stands were still around the last couple of weeks, and the aroma that wafts out of them was on the decline, but I couldn't resist buying a few good peaches before they stop showing up completely. Wise decision that, because these peaches were really tasty. While the temptation to eat them simply sliced was very strong, so was the pull to try them in a dessert. I especially wanted to try the cobbler that I had made earlier with cherries, to see whether it would work for peaches as well.

Peach Cobbler: Before Baking
Peach Cobbler: Before Baking, Yellow and White Peaches arranged alternately

Having used the recipe before, I made two substitutions, one healthy, and the other decadent. Instead of using all flour, I used quick cooking oats in the mix, and for a classic pairing with peaches, I used Amaretto instead of vanilla extract. The Amaretto vanished considerably upon baking, but the underlying flavor is wonderful, so use it if you have it. I also reduced the amount of sugar further down because the peaches were very sweet.

It all worked just fabulously, and the result was one delicious dessert. Served with ice-cream it is nothing short of bliss. It is going to be on my must-do list every summer from now on!


Peach Cobbler: After Baking
Peach Cobbler: After Baking

Peach and Amaretto Cobbler

Serves about 8-10 for dessert

Ingredients

3 firm ripe peaches (or enough to yield 2 cups when sliced)
1/2 cup butter

3 Tablespoons white sugar
1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup quick cooking oats (or all-purpose flour)
3/4 cup - 1 cup white sugar (depending on how sweet the fruit is)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup milk
1 Tablespoon Amaretto

Method

Bring water to a boil in a saucepan. Blanch the peaches for 1 minute and remove with a slotted spoon. Peel the peaches when cool enough to handle, and slice evenly.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place the butter in a 9x13 inch baking dish, and place in the oven to melt while the oven is preheating. Remove as soon as butter has melted, about 5 minutes.

In a medium bowl, toss the sliced peaches with the 3 Tablespoons of sugar and 1 tablespoon of flour.

In a medium bowl, stir together the rest of the flour, oats, sugar, and baking powder. Add the milk and Amaretto and whisk until well blended, then pour the batter into the pan over the butter. Do not stir.

Distribute the sliced peaches evenly over the batter.

Bake for about 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. A toothpick inserted into the cobber should come out clean.

Buttery notes

This dessert is utterly butterly delicious, but I think it could do with a little less butter. My guess is that 6 Tablespoons would be good if the amount of sugar is being reduced as well, otherwise, keep it at 7 Tablespoons.

Peach Cobbler: Served

26 comments:

TheCooker said...

first one to comment! Lucky me :)
Oats in the cobbler..great idea.

KellytheCulinarian said...

Oh yum, sounds great!

Suganya said...

I was just about to ask any butter substitute. 6 tbsp for that big a pan sounds reasonable. I have never made cobbler and am not a big fan of peaches too. Do you know any fall fruit that I can use here. The cobbler, BTW, looks fantastic!

Richa said...

Yummmmmmmmmmm!!
the peaches i got last wknd were not up to the mark, hope to get a few more weeks of it :)

Mansi said...

this looks beautiful! peaches are great fruits..I've never tried making a cobbler before, but I guess it's time will come:) Oats and Amaretto is a nice variation!

musical said...

Yummy looking cobbler and love the use of oats, dear! and yes, peach season is getting over :(.

Viji said...

Yummyyyyyyyyyyyy looking Cobbler.mmmmmmmm should try it.

Rajitha said...

yummm..i love cobblers and peach is quite up on top in my list..urs looks very very good

Roopa said...

wow looks awesome :) can i use canned peaches ??

bha said...

never have tasted a cobbler and dont know when wud I do....this one looks wonderful..probably its time for inspiration cooking now

sra said...

I'm amazed that's just three peaches (or 2 cups). Makes me wonder whether my measures are right - I often encounter this. It looks yummy and I'm dreaming about this for dessert tomorrow - dreaming, because I haven't seen peaches yet here!

evolvingtastes said...

thecooker, lucky me too, to have your comment. Quick cooking oats worked out really well, they just blended into the batter.

Kelly, it is delicious.

Thanks Suganya. For fall fruit, figs might work well here though beware that they could possibly get overcooked if ripe. I also think sliced bananas would work here just as well.

Richa, get those peaches sooooooooooon, there are not going to be too many good ones left anymore.

evolvingtastes said...

Mansi, this is a really easy and comforting dessert, even if you have never tried it before.

Musical, Viji, Rajitha, Bhags - Thank you all!

Roopa, I think you could try canned peaches. Drain well to get all the syrup out before you put them in the pan.

sra, pucca, it is definitely 2 cups. I used a 2-cup capacity wide bowl to measure instead of squishing the slices into cups, and these were fairly large peaches too. Do you get peaches in India otherwise? If not, I was trying to think what other fruit you could use. Banana of course, like I mentioned above, but any other fruit that is quite firm even when ripe should be fine.

Cynthia said...

Comfort in a every spoonful.

Sig said...

Oh wow, love peach cobbler... never tried it at home though... beautiful pictures...

evolvingtastes said...

Cynthia, couldn't agree more!

Sig, nice to see you here. This particular cobbler is super easy to make at home. I have seen others where the batter is poured on top of the fruit, but I am taken by this one for now because I like the idea of the colorful fruit on top.

Siri said...

Yummy recipes..:D

Rasa Malaysia said...

I only wish I know how to bake better. Sigh. ;)

Shilpa said...

oh-ho, decadent indeed! :) i know what you mean about grabbing the last fruits of the season! i already miss the short-lived strawberry season! :( i recently made something similar (clafoutis) but have not posted the pictures yet!

evolvingtastes said...

Siri, thanks.

Rasa, oh c'mon now, you are being way too modest.

Shilpa, how nice to see you here after a long time! Look forward to your clafoutis, which like you said, is similar, but I bet the French version will have something special to it.

ServesYouRight said...

True southern belle style cobbler!! Looks delish :-)

Smita

Cynthia said...

Hiya! I have the recipes to send but no email address to send them to :) can you drop me a line at: tasteslikehome@gmail.com please and I'll forward the recipes you.

evolvingtastes said...

Thanks Smita. How have you been?

I have hardly been reading other blogs and my own blog has been inactive for over a week, but I hope to catch up soon.

Sylvia T said...

It was very exciting to see oats used in a cobbler, my Mom and I always used oats. Your recipe is excellent, I have never made cobbler with the batter on the bottom, I always dropped the oat batter on top so yours was a wonderful new treat. Very good, thanks, Sylvia

Anonymous said...

hey i tried it is it supposed to rise a bit? cause mine seemed flat in such a large dish. also i've done it with canned peaches and is good but think they need to be drained and dried alot as mine was a bit soft. oh and less sugar with the tinned peaches i think. great with natural yoghurt. thanks!

WISE said...

I had 3 peaches that were about to turn, so I googled "'3 peaches' cobbler" and this recipe came up. worked like a charm. I used a packet of Kroger peaches and cream instant oatmeal and a dash of maple syrup in lieu of ameretto. Good stuff. Thanks.

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