Minty Peach Cobbler

Summer means peaches and peaches mean sweet summer desserts. Pies, ice cream, raw, there’s only a short time you can get your fill, so you need to take advantage. I tend to lean towards a good peach pie in the summer, but there just weren’t enough for a pie in the basket from our local Saturday farmer’s market so I opted to make something which didn’t require a pie sized amount of them: peach cobbler.

What is a cobbler? A cobbler is truly an American dish created back when the Colonies were still under British rule. According to the internet, colonists couldn’t source certain ingredients for their puddings (not the pudding you’re thinking of) and took to topping fruit with a biscuit dough. That’s right, a cobbler is basically fruit and biscuits all cooked together. Much easier than pie. Anything with a pie dough crust is not a cobbler. There is no bottom in a cobbler either, just the fruit in a dish. You simply put in the fruit, top it with the biscuit batter and bake in an oven. I know what you’re thinking, it sounds an awful lot like a crisp or crumble. Yeah well it’s not. Crisps and crumbles don’t use a wet batter like cobblers.

My mom has a recipe for a peach and apricot cobbler but it uses canned fruit so I just took the topping part from it and combined it with my peach pie filling to make this cobbler. I even kicked it up a notch by consulting the Flavor Bible to see what else could go with the peaches. Lots, but the one ingredient to pop out at me which also happened to be sitting on my counter was mint. The mint definitely adds a very nice bright freshness in the background of the peaches. Thumbs up to that pairing!

As far as desserts go (and remember, I’m no baker) this has to be the simplest dessert you can make. Even if you’re all thumbs in the kitchen you can make this. A cobbler is a very good summer dessert with all the fresh fruit available, so you can use whatever is freshest if there aren’t any peaches. Nectarines, apricots, plums, any of the various berries. Have a go at it.

Peach Cobbler with Fresh Mint

• 6 peaches
• ½ C sugar
• Wedge of lemon, squeezed in
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• 1 Tbs chopped mint leaves
• ½ C flour
• ½ C sugar
• ¾ tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 Tbs butter
• 1 large egg

Pre-heat the oven to 400°F.

Fill a medium-sized pot with water and bring to simmer over medium-high heat. Make “X”s in the bottom of the peaches with a knife. Place in simmering water for about a minute each. Peel skin off peaches.

Cut the skinned peaches into ¾” wedges.

Add sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mint, to peaches and toss to coat well. Set aside for 15-20 mins.

Make the topping by mixing together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, butter, and egg.

Pour the peaches into an 8×8 baking dish. Spoon the batter over the peaches.

Bake in oven for 30 minutes until topping is golden brown.

Allow to cool on a wire rack.

Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.