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.

Banana Walnut Muffins

Quick breads and muffins aren't really that difficult to build.  We need some heft (flour), some flavor (fruit/vegetable/spices), a riser (usually baking powder) and some glue (an egg).  Easy, right?  Well, a lot of muffin recipes call for sugar.  White sugar.  Processed sugar.  And I don't understand.

It's been a long time since I've used white sugar as anything other than a decoration, if I even care to use it for that much.  As far as sweeteners go, if the fruit itself isn't enough to spread around, I tend to rely on the most natural of all sweeteners; honey.

For as much as I love and use honey, I have to say I have a soft spot for maple syrup.

My grandfather tapped the trees on his land, harvested the sap, and cooked it down to that sweet, delicate, thin liquid we poured on our pancakes and waffles.  I even dipped my bacon or sausage it, and it was good.  Darn good.

But guess what.  Maple syrup isn't just for breakfast anymore.

When my children were born, I started playing around with different natural sweeteners so I could avoid giving those new and perfect little bodies straight up processed white sugar.  Local raw honey and local maple syrup worked as a great substitute in nearly every recipe I tried them.

In your search for real maple syrup (please don't waste your money on "pancake syrup" or amost-but-not-quite maple syrup - read your labels!), look locally.  If you absolutely can't find any within a decent drive-able radius, get online and buy from as close to home as possible.  If you do have to drive far, it's a good idea to stock up.

Here is a favorite muffin recipe using maple syrup from a local source.  They are super moist and just sweet enough to let the flavor of the banana be the star. I hope you like them.

Banana Walnut Muffins

• 1 c whole wheat flour
• 3/4 c rolled oats (not quick cooking)   
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 c chopped walnuts
• 1/4 c canola, olive, or coconut oil
• 1/2 c pure maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 3 large, ripe bananas
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• Preheat oven to 375F. Grease or line 12 muffin tins.
• In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and nuts. Make a well in the middle.
• In another bowl, combine oil, maple syrup, vanilla, and egg. Using your hands or the back of a fork, gently squash the bananas (don't "mash" them, keep some chunks), and add to the wet ingredients. Stir well.
• Pour the banana mixture into the flour and oat mixture. Stir until just combined.
• Divide batter evenly among the 12 prepared muffin tins. Bake 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.