Peach Cobbler - A July Tradition

California Peaches

Growing up in San Diego, our neighbor had a huge peach tree that grew up over into our yard.  As our neighbor said, "Anything on your side is yours!"  So, every July my Grandpa Temple would climb up on top of our patio and pick the ripe peaches.  He would hand down the bowls and we girls would run them to the house where my Grandma and mom would be cutting up a storm.  As you entered the screen door, you would be overwhelmed by the smell of fresh peaches and the baking of cobbler.  The house would be hot, but who cares.  If you are getting cobbler it is all worth it. 

Years later, the smell of summer peaches would grab me as I entered the grocery store.  Our local grocery had them front and center. Who can resist that?  On Sunday, Cindy and I were making a run to the grocery for a few ingredients for dinner when I caught a whiff of it - peaches.  There they were, California peaches, with their soft fuzz and strong aroma.  We knew what we had to do, make a cobbler!

Here is my recipe which I believe is pretty close to my Grandma's.  It tastes like it to me. 

Crust - this is the secret.  My grandma taught me to make the best pie crust in the whole world.  I am ruined by it and find all others a little less than perfect.  I know, we all have our own favorites.  I am sharing mine.

In a bowl - Mix 2 cups flour, 2 tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon salt.

Add 1/2 cup oil, cutting it in with a fork until completely mixed and crumbly.

Add 5 tablespoons of water to the mix.  As you mix it will begin to hold together.  Divide in two, one for the bottom and one for the top.

Lay out a large piece of waxed paper and sprinkle with flour.  Grab one half of the dough and begin rolling it out thin to line the bottom of a casserole type dish.  You can use a 9x11 or 10x13, any dish that is glass and about 2-3 inches high.  Trim to fit or patch areas that are short.  Save the rest to repeat the same procedure when finishing up the cobbler.

Filling - here we go!  I am not sure how many pounds to use, but 10-12 large peaches is a good estimate.  They do cook down so do not be afraid to use a lot!  Begin by blanching them in boiling water for a just a minute.  Remove and put in cold water.  This makes them super easy to peel and worth the trouble.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a large bowl mix:

3/4 - 1 cup of sugar (I found I could use a lot less and let the peaches do the work)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons flour

Peel and cut the peaches into slices or chunks.  Sometimes they are so ripe you are lucky to just to get them in pieces!  Mix those lovely peaches into the bowl of dry ingredients, coating them.  Dump them into the bottom of your crust.  Roll out the rest of the dough and cover the top, crimping the edges to seal.  Sprinkle with a little bit of sugar and nutmeg on top of the crust. Poke a few vent holes in the top crust to vent.  It will look like the one below:

Ready for the oven

Do you see that the cobbler is a bit under the edge of the pan?  It helps to keep those juicy peaches from bubbling over and ending up on the bottom of my oven! 

Cook for 10 minutes, then reduce the temp to 350.  Continue baking until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly.  I want to say about 40 minutes. Start at 30 and keep checking it.

We couldn't stand it, we ate it warm.  Even the kids loved it and Alanna had seconds.  I always think it is going to be a ton of work, but it goes quickly and is so worth it in the end. 

Enjoy yours!