Recently, I had an unexpected out of town visitor. Since I don’t see her very often, I wanted to welcome her with a sweet treat, but only had about an hour to bake something before she arrived. Luckily, my easy, quick peach cobbler came to the rescue.
While I used peaches in this recipe because that’s what I had on hand, any fruit would work well- apples, blueberries, even pears! The great thing about this cobbler is that it is easy to make, and uses ingredients that you most likely have on-hand. The crumble is a mixture of whole wheat flour, brown and white sugar, cinnamon and butter. An excellent addition to the streusel topping would be chopped walnuts; although I didn’t use nuts in my recipe this time, walnuts add a flavour and texture that works very well with the peaches. When the streusel is set up on top of the peach mixture, I finish it with about a teaspoon of cream before it hits the oven, just to allow the lactic acids to brown and flavour the topping further.
I chose to toss my sliced peaches with a splash of orange juice, in order to cut down on the amount of white sugar I would have to use. The orange juice also adds a tangy sweetness that compliments the peaches beautifully. I also added a small amount of cinnamon into my peach mixture as well- you don’t need much because of its strong flavour, but the cinnamon is another good replacement for some of the sugar content, and plays off the flavours of the peaches and orange juice.
The peaches can be peeled, or left with their skins on, depending on your time restraints. I usually choose to remove the skins from my peaches, however the skins sort of dissolve in the baking process anyway, and get lost in the mix. If you do want to remove your peach skins, the easiest way to do this is to bring a large pot of water to a boil, and blanche the peaches quickly. Once the water is boiling, toss in the peaches, and blanche for about 30 seconds. At this point, quickly remove them from the hot water and put them directly into an ice bath. Once the peaches have cooled, cut them in half and the skins will slip off easily. Then, you can slice them and continue the process.
This dessert is perfect for those who don’t necessarily love baking, or anyone who is short on time. The total time this cobbler takes to make, from start to finish, is roughly an hour (and most of it is baking time anyway!). Finish with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream, and enjoy! The recipe I have provided for you will fill one 8”x5” loaf pan, but the recipe is very easily doubled. As it is, the recipe will easily serve about four hungry people.
Happy baking, everybody!
Peach Cobbler
For the Streusel Topping:
You will need:
- 4 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 cup butter, cold, cut into chunks
Method:
1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour with the brown and white sugar.
2. Begin adding chunks of butter, working them into the flour with your fingers.
3. The consistency of the streusel at this point should be like a rough cornmeal, with some bigger chunks in it.
4. Set aside, and use to top the cobbler before baking.
For the Filling:
You will need:
- 4-5 large fresh peaches, sliced
- ¼ cup orange juice, pulp free
- 2 cups white granulated sugar
- Aprox 2 tsp freshly grated cinnamon (the packaged powdered stuff works fine, too!)
- 1 pinch salt
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 375F
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients.
3. Pour into loaf pan, and top with streusel topping.
4. Top streusel with 1 tsp Half and Half, lightly over entire cobbler. (this will help with browning and add flavour and texture).
5. Bake at 375F for 45 minutes.
6. Remove from oven, allow to cool for at least 15 minutes. Serve warm or cold.
