Peach Cobbler

When I think of Peach Cobbler, I think of the South. When I think of the South, I think of Southern Food. When I think of Southern food, I think of Paula Deen, the queen of Southern Cuisine. This lady really loves her butter. She may even deep fry butter and eat the whole thing. But hey, who hasn't thought of doing that themselves? ha. So, who better to get a Peach Cobbler recipe from than the good ol' Paula Deen.

I've been wanting to make a Peach Cobbler for a long time. However, I couldn't find any fresh peaches! I thought Summer was here already? Well, I went to the second best thing, frozen peaches. Supposedly, frozen fruit and vegetables are "picked at the peak of freshness" and I would have to agree. Sweet yet tangy, tender yet had a bite. It's all you want in fruit without all the work of peeling and chopping. Thus, when life gives you peaches, make a Peach Cobbler.

Tips
-I halved this recipe and baked it in a 9 in pie pan
-Instead of the fresh peaches, I used one 16 ounce bag of frozen. If making the full recipe, use two 16 ounce bags
-Don't mix the layers or butter, batter and peach. Leave it as is.

Results
Taste: Surprisingly, not overpoweringly sweet. There was a nice balance between the somewhat tart peaches, and the sweetness of it's syrup with the sweetness from the crust and added cinnamon to give some spice. 

Texture: The peaches were tender and not overcooked and the batter that did not brown on the top gave the cobbler a creamy aspect. However, it did have a gummy quality to it. The best part had to be the browned crust. It gave a nice textural difference with it being crunchy. But, I would love to try to make a cobbler using layers of pie crust instead because the gummy quality was not liked by my familia. 

Peach Cobbler
Recipe by Paula Deen

Ingredients
4 cups peeled, sliced peaches
2 cups sugar, divided
1/2 cup water
8 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/2 cups milk
Ground cinnamon, optional

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the peaches, 1 cup sugar, and water in a saucepan and mix well. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Put the butter in a 3-quart baking dish and place in oven to melt.

Mix remaining 1 cup sugar, flour, and milk slowly to prevent clumping. Pour mixture over melted butter. Do not stir. Spoon fruit on top, gently pouring in syrup. Sprinkle top with ground cinnamon, if using. Batter will rise to top during baking. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes.

To serve, scoop onto a plate and serve with your choice of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream

-Aaron John