Brown Sugar Peach Cobbler

Old fashioned brown sugar peach cobbler is the perfect, simple dessert you should be making for the July 4th holiday. A Cobbler is a dessert consisting of a fruit (every so often, they can be savory) filling poured into a large baking dish and covered with a batter, biscuit, or at times, dumpling, before being baked. Let’s face it, it does not get much easier than this.

Cobblers are actually called by various other names such as; pandowdy, grunt, slump, buckles, crisp, croustade, bird’s nest pudding and crow’s nest pudding.  They are all simple variations of cobblers, and each is based on seasonal fruits and berries, or whatever fresh ingredients are available.

Cobblers, Crisps & Crumbles

Cobblers, have been around in America the longest. According to the Oxford Companion to Food, cobblers date back to the 1850s. By the mid-19th century, it had become the dish we know best; fruit baked in the oven with a dough top.

Crisps and a crumbles are extremely similar. A crisp is a dessert consisting of fruit baked with a crumble topping that first appeared in America around the early 1900s. The topping that sits on the baked fruit in a crisp is typically crispy and crumbly, containing butter, sugar, but sometimes additional things like flour, oatmeal or nuts. Crisps often have a pebbly texture.

Crumbles, are essentially a crisp, but it can have a slightly different topping texture. The topping of a crumble tend to be sandier in texture than a crunchy crisp, or they can have big clumps rather than an equally distributed crisp topping.

Peach cobblers have long been popular in the south. American settlers invented the peach cobbler because they didn’t have the proper ingredients or tools to make peach pie. So instead, they stewed peaches, placed raw biscuit dough on top and cooked the cobbler over an open flame.

Peach Cobbler Fun Facts:

• National Peach Cobbler Day is April 13. The day was created in the 1950s by the Georgia Peach Festival to promote the sale of canned peaches.
• Fresh peaches make the best cobblers and are at their peak when picked mid to late summer.
• The “cobbler” get’s it names because the dough looks so rough, it’s as if it’s been cobbled together.
• Peach cobbler recipes actually vary regionally, some have an additional bottom crust resembling a more traditional pie.
• The world’s heaviest peach was 1.8 pounds, and grown in Peach County, Georgia, July 2018.
• The largest peach cobbler was on display at Georgia Peach Festival in 2007. The cobbler was 11 feet x 5 feet, 8 inches deep and used 75 gallons of peaches.

Peach cobblers are a quintessential summer dessert that can accompany just about any meal. They are also a great pie alternative. Cobblers are best enjoyed warm, right after it’s baked with a generous scoop of your favorite vanilla ice cream.

Brown Sugar Peach Cobbler

June 29, 2022

Servings: 6

Prep: 15 min

Cook: 45 min

Total: 1 hr

Difficulty: Easy

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By: simmerandsauce

Ingredients

• For the Peaches:
• 4 peaches, peeled, cored and sliced (or frozen)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• dash of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• For the Batter:
• 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup milk
• pinch of ground cinnamon

Directions

• Step 1 For the Peaches: In a medium saucepan add the sliced peaches, both sugars, salt and vanilla. Mix well and place over medium heat. Cook until the sugar dissolves completely. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Step 2 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Pour the melted butter into a 8×8-inch baking pan and place near your work station.
• Step 3 In a medium mixing bowl add the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt, blend well. Add the milk and cinnamon to taste and stir until combined. Pour the mixture into the pan, over the melted butter and use a rubber spatula to smooth it into an even layer.
• Step 4 Spoon the peaches, and their juice, over the batter.  Place in the oven and bake for about 40-45 minutes till puffed and golden brown on top or until a cake tester comes out clean. Serve the cobbler warm, with a scoop of ice cream, if desired.