Peach Cobbler 2.0

I love recipes. I love them for many reasons, from being able to pass down dishes served around the family dining table for generations to the fact that they can be as comforting and familiar as an old friend; however, I believe there is an element that can make recipes even more precious. They often can take on a life of their own. A simple tweak here and there can yield something new and exciting, maybe a different flavor profile, or an element of texture that elevates a dish that much more. That is what I have been learning in the kitchen as of late, the big tweaks are sometimes necessary, but the difference between a good and a great dish is often made by a smaller, more precise change. Think paring knife instead of chef’s knife. While I didn’t take a paring knife to my family’s peach cobbler recipe that I originally shared last summer: here, I did breakout the microplane and a teaspoon for some tweaks. Those little tweaks added up to big flavor development! The addition of citrus zest brightens the whole dish, while cinnamon provides that warmth on your tongue when it first hits your taste buds. Though this recipe has been elevated a bit, the batter feels reminiscent of Miss Truvy’s “cuppa, cuppa, cuppa” simple recipe in Steel Magnolias and I’ve always loved that, no tweaking there.

Ingredients:

• 8-12 soft peaches, yielding about 2.5-3 cups of diced fruit and juice

• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest

• 1 cup AP flour

• 1.5 cups sugar

• 1 cup milk

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) of butter cut into 16 pats, 1/2 tablespoon pieces

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Peel and cut up peaches into 1/2 chucks and put into a large bowl. Tip: Make sure you squeeze the pits of the peaches to get all the juice and the fruit off the pit!

3. Add 1/2 cup of sugar, cinnamon, and lemon zest to your peaches and let sit for 15 minutes. Hello, maceration!

4. In another bowl combine, 1 cup of sugar, flour and milk and mix together.

5. Add in vanilla and mix.

6. Cut a stick of butter into 1/2 tablespoon pieces (you’ll get 16!)

7. Grease a baking dish (I used 9 x 13) and pour batter into dish.

8. Distribute the butter evenly over the top of the batter (like little butter life rafts!).

9. Pour peach mixture over the top of the batter. Aim for the center of the pan as the sides of the batter are going to bake up and need to come up and over the peaches. (Say it with me, batter: “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can…”)

10. Bake for 45-50 degrees or until golden brown and sides of pan and center bubble.

Peach Ice Cream

Happy Labor Day weekend! The official bookend of summer is upon us and in case you find yourself by a peach stand during this long weekend, needing to get your last summer fix, make this! I find that there are two camps when it comes to peach ice cream. Camp one: wants basically vanilla with peach chucks in it. Camp two: wants it to taste/smell/look like a peach, just colder. Since I’m all about taking your favorite things from each recipe and blending together, this felt like a fun one to experiment with. Here’s what I found, making a peach simple syrup is KEY! It contributes sweetness, color and translates the essence of peach very well into the milk and cream mixture. Don’t worry, it’s not as complex as it sounds—I’m going to walk you through step by step so you too can know the wonders of peach ice cream!

Ingredients:

Peach Ice Cream

- 2 1/2 cups heavy cream

-2 cups whole milk

-2 1/2 tsp salt

-3/4 cup sugar

-2 cups fresh peaches, cubed (about 5 peaches)

-1/2 cup of peach simple syrup

-2 tsp vanilla extract

Peach Simple Syrup:

-skins of 5 yellow peaches

-1 1/3 cup water

-1 1/3 cup sugar

Method:

Peach Simple Syrup

1. Peel the skin off 5 peaches. Place the inside of the peaches into a bowl (we will need for the ice cream) and place the skins into a saucepan.

2. Fill saucepan with water until peaches are covered. Add same amount of sugar, as you did water. For this exercise, my measurement was 1 1/3 cup for both. Stir together until dissolved.

3. Bring peach skins to a boil for 5 minutes. Reduce to a simmer and let cook for 45 minutes.

4. Strain peach skins and place peach simple syrup in a container to cool completely.

Peach Ice Cream

1. Place the freezer bowl of your ice cream maker in the freezer at 0 degrees for 24 hours

2. In a large bowl combine, milk, sugar and salt. Stir until dissolved.

3. Add in cream, vanilla, and simple syrup and mix to combine. Cover and let chill for 2 hours.

4. Take freezer bowl out of freezer, and add cream mix, make according to your machines settings.

5. Add in peach chunks with 5 minutes to go.

Peach Cobbler with Salted Vanilla Ice Cream

There are many things I love about the summertime: more daylight hours, blueberry picking, the smell of sunscreen, and peach season to name a few. Peach cobbler has always felt like summertime in a bowl to me. Maybe it’s the bright color or the mix of the jelly-like texture of the peaches, with the pillowy-bread top, or the fact that it tastes like sunshine personified? I always knew it was the start of summer when my mom made a peach cobbler on Memorial Day Weekend, and then through out each holiday in the summer, made from peaches that we usually pick up from a peach orchard not far from our family’s farm in East Texas. The cool thing about cobblers is that is feels like everyone’s family has their own recipe and I love seeing how everyone puts their own spin on things—keeping the family traditions alive. I love the fact that this is the recipe my grandmother made, my mother makes, and my sister and I will continue to make. Each adding our own touches to make it our own. My mom doubles the recipes to make it thicker and cooks it longer, my sister makes her gluten free, and I macerate my peaches (which means nothing more than letting sugar break down fruit) and added the ice cream touch to make it a little extra special!

This is our family’s peach cobbler recipe and it reads a little like Miss Truvy’s “Cuppa-Cuppa-Cuppa” recipe from Steel Magnolias. I added the Salted Vanilla Ice Cream because the salt brings out the natural sweetness from the peaches, as well as cuts through the syrup-y sweet taste.

Peach Cobbler Recipe

Ingredients:

-1 cup of flour

-1 1/2 cups of sugar

-1/4 tsp of cinnamon

-1 cup of milk

-2 tsp baking powder

-1 stick of butter

-12 overly ripe peaches (you can leave them in the window sill to help them ripen!)

Method

1. Peel peaches and cut into 1/2 in. size, sprinkle with half a cup of sugar and cinnamon. Set aside to macerate for 10-15 minutes.

2. Mix together flour, sugar, milk, and baking powder to make a paste.

3. Pour paste into a greased 9x13 baking dish.

4. Cube one stick of butter of the paste.

5. Pour peaches over the butter.

6. Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes or until it bubbles all around sides and in the center and browned.

Salted Vanilla Ice Cream

Pre-freeze ice cream maker bowl at 0 degrees for 24 hours.

Ingredients:

-2 cups of whole milk

-2 1/2 cups of heavy cream

-1 cup of sugar

-1 tbs. of kosher salt (I use Diamond)

-2 tsp. of vanilla extract

Method:

1. In a large bowl, combine milk, sugar, salt. Stir (do not whisk) together until sugar and salt are dissolved.

2. Add in cream, vanilla extract, and combine. Cover and chill for 2 hours.

3. Pull out mix, and give it a final stir, taking care not to make it bubbles, as you do not want to add air.

4. Pour into ice cream bowl and make according to your machine’s settings.

5. Put in a freezing container and let harden for 3-4 hours or overnight.

6. Or enjoy immediately over your freshly made peach cobbler and sprinkle with a little extra cinnamon!