This old-fashioned dessert plays all the right notes for me. It's a sexy symphony of fresh blueberries and peaches, baked beneath "cobblestones" of slightly-sweetened biscuit dough. I can't imagine a better finish for a mid-summer dinner party.
Note: In the following step-by-step, you'll see that I peeled my fuzzy-skinned "Eastern" peaches. If peeling fruit isn't your idea of a good time, feel free to substitute nectarines. Nectarines have smooth skins that will not fall off during baking.
Another Note: As cobbler's go, this one isn't particularly sweet. For sweet-toothed bakers, feel free to increase sugar by 1/4 cup.
Blah-blah-blah.
Yadda, yadda, yadda.
ZinG! PoW! ka-BOOM!
Let's make this timeless temptation:
Tip 1/2 cup sugar into a big bowl...
And stir in 2 tablespoons of ground "instant" or "minute" tapioca. In my experience, ground tapioca is the best thickening agent for fruit juices. But you can certainly substitute an equal amount of corn starch.
Then add the grated zest of a lemon. I hope you have a microplane zester.
Using your impeccably clean fingers, rub the lemon zest and sugar together until perfumed.
Next, take 2 pounds of fresh, local peaches...
And peel them. In the dark days, I blanched (boiled and chiledl) my peaches so their skins would slip off. Today I take the easy road, and peel the fruit with a serrated peeler. Serrated peelers are available at every kitchen supply store, or you can order one, as I did, from this online source.
Cut the peaches into 1/2-inch-thick wedges.
Then tip the peaches and 4 cups of blueberries into the sugar mixture, and gently toss to coat with a green spatula. Let the fruit macerate (exude its juices) for 10 minutes.
While the fruit is doing its thing, prepare the cobblestone topping:
In a medium-size bowl, whisk together 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, and a pinch of salt.
Add 1 stick (1/2 cup or 113g) of cold, diced butter...
And press the flour and butter together with your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse oat meal.
Alternately, you could cut the butter into the flour with a pastry-blending gadget. Or, you could use the "pulse" button on your food processor. Just don't over-process, or you'll end up with hockey pucks not biscuits.
Add 1 cup of milk to the dry ingredients...
And mix everything together with a spoon. The dough will be wet and sticky.
Pour the fruit and all of the accumulated juices into a greased 9x13 baking dish...
And top the the works with cobblestones of dough. For the prettiest effect, space the "stones" 1 1/2- to 2-inches apart. They'll spread out as they bake.
These next 2 steps are entirely optional, but they will lend color and flavor to the biscuit topping:
Brush the dough with a little cream (or use plain milk)...
And give 'em a light sprinkling of granulated or Demerara sugar.
Bake at 375°F until the fruit juices bubble and the dough colors -- 50-55 minutes.
Serve warm, alongside a scoop of vanilla ice cream or sweetened whipped cream.
Where's my ice cream? Well, it's still in the fridge. Obviously I'm watching my weight.
Here's the printable:
[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:69]
Love fruit cobblers? You can let me know by leaving a comment. And do feel free to play around with the ingredients. You might like to add some chopped mint to the sugar-and-lemon mixture.
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