Yesterday I channeled all my Southern ancestresses and made a peach cobbler. It was my only one of the summer. I used fresh peaches, a classic recipe and my entire afternoon. When you are making peach cobbler do not get over ambitious and try to make a big dinner. I made vegetarian barbecue wings, bought some ready-made potato salad from the grocery store, steamed some green beans and warmed up the last of the biscuits I had put in the freezer from earlier in the week. We had the cobbler with ice cream at the end. Tonight we had left overs (including more cobbler). We are all very, very happy at chez Jackie. Here’s the recipe. Make one before the peaches are gone.

Southern Peach cobbler

INGREDIENTS

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o 8 fresh peaches - peeled, pitted and sliced into thin wedges If peaches are out of season use 2 pounds of frozen sliced peaches. Make sure they do not have added sugar.

o 1/4 cup white sugar

o 1/4 cup brown sugar

o 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

o 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

o 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

o 2 teaspoons cornstarch (if using frozen peaches, increase to 3 teaspoons)

o 1 cup all-purpose flour

o 1/4 cup white sugar

o 1/4 cup brown sugar

o 1 teaspoon baking powder

o 1/2 teaspoon salt

o 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces

o 1/4 cup boiling water

o MIX TOGETHER:

o 3 tablespoons white sugar

o 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

NSTRUCTIONS

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1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

2. If using frozen peaches, thaw them in the refrigerator overnight. Before beginning the recipe, place the thawed peaches in a colander over a bowl and allow the excess liquid to drain out.

3. In a large bowl, combine peaches, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Toss to coat evenly, and pour into a 2 quart baking dish. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine flour, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Blend in butter with your fingertips, or a pastry blender, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in water until just combined.

5. Remove peaches from oven and drop spoonfuls of topping over them. Sprinkle entire cobbler with the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Bake until topping is golden, about 30 minutes.

6. If you concerned that the sugar will over caramelize, you can sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on in the last 2 to 5 minutes of baking. If you want a less sweet cobbler, omit the cinnamon sugar altogether.

Note:

For frozen peaches, thaw them in the refrigerator overnight. Before starting the cobbler, put the thawed peaches in a colander over a plate and drain out the excess moisture. Frozen peaches are never as good in a cobbler as fresh, but they come close.

If you need pictures, here is what you should end up with if you have enough peaches. This is a 2 quart square pyrex dish.