Yesterday, Staci, a friend of mine from high school asked if I had a cobbler recipe like the one her Mama used. She told me it had dumplings in it that were cooked on the stovetop and then a top crust that was layered over that, put into a casserole dish and then baked in the oven. I knew I had three or four different types of Peach Cobbler Recipes, so I told her I would look and see if I had the one she was searching for. When I came across this recipe in my files, I instantly remembered cooking this cobbler for my boys when they were small. I would top it with either freshly cooked custard or vanilla ice cream.
Staci said she had attempted this type of cobbler, but it never tasted the same as her Mama’s. That’s the thing about Southern Cooking. Many times, our Mama’s may throw in an ingredient that they don’t even tell us is in the recipe when they hand the recipe down. It isn’t to be spiteful; it’s merely because they are so used to cooking by taste and not measurement, that often they forget they even add an ingredient.
Ingredients:
Filling:
5 fresh peaches, skinned, pitted and sliced or 1 ( 30 ounce ) can sliced peaches in heavy syrup
1 and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 cups white sugar
3/4 cups brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 cup butter
Dumplings:
2 cups self-rising flour (if using all-purpose flour add 1 teaspoon of salt and 2 teaspoons of baking powder.)
1/3 cup of shortening
3/4-1 cup of milk
Crust:
1 cup white sugar
1 cup self-rising flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup milk
Yield: 1 – 9 x 13 inch cobbler
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F ( 177 degrees C )
2. In a large saucepan, combine peaches, cinnamon, nutmeg, white and brown sugars, vanilla and butter. Cook over medium high heat until the peach mixture reaches a rolling boil.
3. While the peaches are cooking, make the dumplings by combining flour the flour and shortening and blending with either a pastry blender or fork. Add milk and stir till combined and a nice dough ball is formed.
4. Roll the dough out flat, use square pieces to add to the peaches while they boil.
5. Once the dumplings have reached a nice translucent color, remove mixture from stovetop.
6. Pour the peaches and dumpling mixture directly into a 9 x 13 casserole or baking dish.
7. In a mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, cinnamon and milk. Stir until smooth. The topping can then either be dropped directly over the peach mixture with a spoon, or can be rolled out and placed over the mixture like a pie crust. Note: If using like a pie crust, melt a little butter and brush over crust, then lightly sprinkle white sugar over the melted butter.
8. Bake for 45 minutes in oven or until top is golden brown.
This is truly an old-fashioned style peach cobbler. It is great in the winter on a cold night, or delicious in the summer when fresh peaches are easy to acquire.
Sources: This recipe came from the author’s own recipe files.
