Hill Country Peach Cobbler

Even though I don’t take the time to blog anymore, I felt the need this weekend to join that crazy little thing called Facebook. I know, it caught me in a weak moment. I said I never would because I’m not a clutterbug and a blog and Facebook would be too much for me. I did it anyway. I have found it to be a blessing and a curse. If you are a Facebook person you will know what I mean. I’m not sure that living in a perpetual high school/family reunion is such a great idea but it is fun to see people all grown up. Let me just say, the “Wall” thing is very scary and overwhelming and jumbles my mind. I think that is why I like blogging, it is very peaceful. I’m the only one who gets to talk.

So, speaking of blogging, let us get down to today’s business, Hill Country Peach Cobbler. I have made this recipe for about 9 years now. How do I remember such an odd number? Well, I have been married for 9 years as of last week and I made this our first year together because my husband is a lover of peach cobbler with a pastry crust. This is a good and easy recipe. The only drawback is the price of ingredients. If you shop where I do, you will have to buy 4 bags of peaches. Once you finish taking out a bank loan for your grocery bill you still have to go home and make it. That is the easy part if you follow one simple rule. Use a BIG pot. Now, don’t go crazy and pull out one so big that you have to use an oar to stir it but make sure it is a proper size. I did not use a big enough pot the first time and peaches went flying. I felt like a failure. The rest is very straight forward. The result is a lot like a yummy peach pie in the summertime. I found this recipe in the Texas Ranger Cookbook. At the time it was only one of three cookbooks we owned. We have added a few more over the past 9 years!

Hill Country Peach Cobbler
INGREDIENTS:
8 c peeled and sliced fresh peaches or frozen peaches, thawed
2 c sugar
3 Tbsp flour
½ tsp ground nutmeg
1/3 c melted butter
2 - 9-inch unbaked pie crust
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 475 degrees.
In large pan, combine peaches, sugar, flour and nutmeg. Bring to a boil and cook over low heat for 10 minutes or until tender. Remove from the heat and add butter. Spoon half of the peaches into a 9x13 inch buttered baking dish and top with a pie crust. Bake for 12 minutes or golden brown. Remove from oven and spoon remaining peaches over baked crust. Cut remaining pastry crust in ½ inch strips. Arrange in lattice design over peaches.
Brush strips with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar. Return to oven for 10-15 minutes. Serves 8.

Easy Peach Cobbler

I make two different kinds of Peach Cobbler depending on my mood and the amount of time I have in a day. The first and the more difficult/ more costly recipe involves 8 cups of peaches and a pastry crust. The second kind of cobbler is this one below. Now, I love them both but they are two very different creatures. The hard one is like a peach pie, and the easy one is like, well, a syrupy peach coffeecake? Maybe. Both are very yummy and rank high on my peach list. My husband would always vote for the pastry crust one because he loves pie. His love of pie and my love of cake brings variety to our kitchen.
Moving on. A few things to note. I don’t think you can over cook this dessert. Well, I’m sure you could, but I have made this before and forgot to reset the timer. I have no idea how long it cooked but it was fine. It says 30-45 minutes but I cook mine longer than that, more like an hour. The cakey part is very gooey and should be brown on top when you take it out. Serve this with vanilla ice cream when it is piping hot. The cream really adds to the flavor and cools the cobbler down a bit so that you do not burn yourself. Another thing to note, eat as much as possible the first time you serve it. This is not a recipe that reheats well.

Easy Peach Cobbler
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup self-rising flour
3/4 cup milk
1 (29 ounce) can peach slices in heavy syrup, undrained
cinnamon, for sprinkling (optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place butter in oven in a 2-quart baking dish to melt. Stir sugar and flour together and mix well. Slowly add milk and continue to stir to prevent the batter from lumping.
Being careful not to burn yourself, remove hot baking dish containing melted butter from oven; pour batter directly over butter in baking dish (DO NOT STIR).
Spoon fruit on top of batter, then gently pour syrup on top (DO NOT STIR). Sprinkle with cinnamon, if using. The most important part of this dish is not stirring the mixture.
Bake for 30 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. Your batter will rise above your fruit, producing the most wonderful of crusts. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream.