Deeply Delicious Peach Cobbler

Deeply Delicious Peach Cobbler

CRUST:
2 -1/2 cups All-purpose Flour
1/2 Tablespoons raw sugar
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
8 ounces, unsalted Butter; cubed and chilled
1 cup Ice Cold Water; probably won't use all this
Milk, To Brush On The Top Crust
Extra Sugar

FILLING:
10 whole Medium Peaches; Peeled And Sliced
3 Tablespoons Corn Starch
1/2 teaspoons Salt
1/2 cups Raw Sugar
1 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon All Spice
2 teaspoons Lemon Juice
1 -1/2 teaspoon real Vanilla Extract
2 Tablespoons unsalted Butter; Cut Into 8 Small Cubes

CRUST

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together. Dump the cold butter cubes on top and use a pastry cutter to break up into small pieces, about the size of peas. Sprinkle 4 Tablespoons of ice water over the dough and toss lightly with a rubber spatula to distribute. Add 1 more tablespoon of ice water at a time until the dough is moist enough to hold together, but not sticky. The amount can vary depending on the humidity, etc. Work quickly to avoid letting the butter soften. Stop to re-chill if at any point it does.

Dump the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap and press into a dome. Cut it in half and move one half to a separate piece of plastic wrap. Form 2 disks and wrap each tightly in the plastic. Refrigerator at least 1 hour to chill.

PREPARE FILLING:

Combine all the ingredients for the filling, except the 2 Tablespoons of butter, in a medium saucepan. Refrigerator about 15-30 minutes to become juicy. (Note: You can start out with less sugar and taste from there. It just depends how sweet your peaches are.)

There is no bottom crust for this cobbler. One disk of dough will be cut into strips and boiled with the filling, and the other disk will be rolled out for a top crust.

So once the pie dough has chilled, remove the 1ST DISK from the fridge and place it on a sheet of waxed paper. Reserve the plastic wrap. Cover it with another sheet of waxed paper and roll out into a circle about 10” in diameter.

Take the top sheet of waxed paper off and set it doughy-side up on the counter. Cut the dough into 2” long strips (I used a pizza cutter). Peel them off the waxed paper to separate and lay them gently on the other sheet. It’s ok if they touch each other, just don’t allow them to melt together. Cover the strips with the plastic wrap and pop into the freezer to quickly re-chill.

Now place the 2ND DISK of dough between two more sheets of waxed paper and roll it out to fit the shape of the pan you’re going to use. I used a 10½ x 7” (1¼ quart) rectangular dish. You can do a plain top that covers the whole pan, or a lattice top. It’s up to you. I did a lattice top, so I rolled the dough out about a couple of inches longer than the pan. Keep the dough between the sheets of waxed paper for now and place it back in the refrigerator.

Place the saucepan with the filling mixture onto the stove and bring to a simmer over low heat. Then take the small strips of dough out of the freezer and drop them in, just like you are cooking homemade noodles. Stir frequently, breaking the dough up, and keep an eye out to make sure that the filling isn’t burning at the bottom of the pan. Continue simmering until the dough is no longer raw. (The only way to really know it’s cooked is to taste it – oh darn!) The filling should also thicken. Remove from heat and pour into your baking dish. Allow it to cool to room temperature so it won’t melt the dough for the top crust.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place a large sheet of foil or parchment paper over the rack to catch what bubbles over (set it in the center of the oven).

Place the 8 small cubes butter over the cooled filling and set the top crust on. If doing a plain top crust, cut some slits in the top for ventilation.

Brush the crust with milk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake about 20 minutes until the top crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling.

Allow to cool on a wire rack until it’s just warm and then serve with vanilla ice cream.

Once completely cooled, cover and store in the refrigerator. (not my cobbler in the photo)