Old Fashioned Peach Cobbler

Earlier this week we went to check out a property for sale about thirty minutes out of town; it is a big old farmhouse badly in need of major renovation.  It is fantastic with its high ceilings, large rooms, hardwood floors, fabulous mouldings, beautiful views of fields and forest, but literally everything needs to be updated, repaired or replaced.  All week long I've been dreaming (okay, fine - obsessing) about how to go about doing just that, what we'd plant on the land, how to incorporate parts of the old barn into the house renovations, and most importantly, how my kitchen would be designed.  The prospect of owning it and working on it and having it turn out exactly as it looks in my mind is incredibly tempting.

And while I was doing that, my beautiful peach tree was moaning under the weight of all the fruit begging to be picked.

When one thinks of the upper Midwest, peaches aren't the first thing that comes to mind, if at all.  Cherries, apples, corn...sure.  But peaches?  Yes!  This is our peach tree's third year, and it is absolutely bursting with sweet, juicy fruit.  Which is saying a lot because, as you can see, aside from picking and eating the fruit each August, I've ignored it other than to watch it grow.

So I've spent the past few days coming up with ways to use the all those gorgeous peaches; pie filling, cobblers, crisps, sauces, and bars.  The cobbler recipe I'm going to share is sweetened only by the peaches and honey, but you could sprinkle the top with some sugar and cinnamon before baking, if you'd like.  For the biscuit topping, I used cream, but milk would still yield a tender biscuit.  Water would even work, but the biscuit will be more crisp.

Old Fashioned Peach Cobbler
6 svgs

• 5 c peaches, peeled and sliced
• 1/4 c raw honey
• 1 Tbs cornstarch (preferably a non-GMO brand such as Rumford)
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 c unbleached all purpose flour
• 1/2 c walnuts or almonds, finely chopped
• 2 Tbs raw honey
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder (preferably aluminum free, such as Rumford)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 3 Tbs chilled butter, roughly chopped
• 1/2 c cream (or whole milk)

Heat oven to 400F.

In a large bowl, combine peaches, honey, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla, and cinnamon.  Pour into an ungreased 2 qt baking dish.

In the same bowl, combine flour, nuts, honey, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.  Mix well.  With your fingers (or a fork, but I prefer my hands), work the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles fine crumbs.

Pour in cream and mix well to form the dough.

Drop the dough in 1-2 inch chunks over the top of the peach mixture.

Bake 25 - 30 minutes or until topping is golden brown.

Serve warm or at room temperature.  Top with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, if desired.