Blueberry Peach Cobbler

Peach cobbler is one of my absolute favorite desserts. Ever. I can remember being a young boy and devouring the soft and sweet peaches anytime I had the chance, which was of course much less than I would have liked. Now as an adult I can have it pretty much anytime I want. However, the best result naturally comes from fresh, ripe, and in-season peaches, which are a decadent treat on their own.

I played around with this recipe a couple of times working at the camp this summer. As you know, I have a tendency to improvise dishes and not measure anything. As we were all about to depart, one of my coworkers asked for this recipe and I couldn’t really tell her much at the time. I’ve made it back to my own kitchen and recreated a version of the dish for the home cook. This blueberry peach cobbler recipe is “simple, yet satisfying.” (Name that movie!) Feel free to use any fruit you wish in place of the blueberries and peaches. If you use canned fruit, then I encourage you to drain the fruit first so the cobbler doesn’t come out extremely soggy.

Cobbler Filling:

• 4 large peaches, pit removed and cut into wedges
• 1 cup blueberries, washed
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar (or lemon juice)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 Tbsp. flour

Cobbler Topping:

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, diced and chilled
• 1/4 cup heavy cream

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 375˚F.
2. Mix all of the filling ingredients together in a bowl to make sure that everything is nicely incorporated. It is always important to wash fruit before consuming to remove any unwanted residue that might have remained from the producer. The flour in the filling mixture acts as a thickening agent to create a luscious sauce.
3. For the topping, begin with combining the dry ingredients. Either in a food processor or with a pastry blender, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until there aren’t any pieces of butter larger than the size of a pea. Stir in the heavy cream to form a dough (it will sort of resemble a biscuit mixture).
4. Pour the filling into an 8″ by 8″ baking dish (or any size that will hold it). Top with the dough. (It doesn’t need to be pretty, as you can see from the picture above.)
5. Place in the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes.
6. It is best served warm, and perhaps with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Enjoy!

Do you have a favorite type of cobbler? What kind?