Fresh Peach Cobbler
By America's Test KitchenPublished on August 8, 2012
Time
55 minutes, plus 30 minutes macerating and 20 minutes cooling
Yield
Serves 6
Ingredients
Filling
2 ½ pounds (1134 grams) peaches, ripe but firm (6 to 7 medium)¼ cup granulated sugar (1 ¾ ounces/50 grams)1 teaspoon cornstarch 1 tablespoon lemon juice from 1 lemonpinch table saltBiscuit Topping
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (5 ounces/142 grams)3 tablespoons granulated sugar ¾ teaspoon baking powder ¼ teaspoon baking soda ¼ teaspoon table salt 5 tablespoons unsalted butter (cold), cut into ¼-inch cubes⅓ cup plain whole-milk yogurt 1 teaspoon granulated sugarBefore You Begin
If your peaches are firm, you should be able to peel them with a vegetable peeler. If they are too soft and ripe to withstand the pressure of a peeler, you'll need to blanch and shock them before peeling. In the biscuit topping, low-fat or nonfat plain yogurt can be used in place of whole milk yogurt, but the biscuits will be a little less rich. If you live in an arid climate, the biscuit dough may require up to an additional tablespoon of yogurt for it to form a cohesive dough. Do not prepare the biscuit dough any sooner than the recipe indicates; if the unbaked dough is left to stand too long, the leavener will expire and the biscuits will not rise properly in the oven. This recipe can be doubled to serve a crowd. Use a 13 by 9-inch baking dish and increase the baking times in steps 2 and 4 by about 5 minutes. Serve the warm cobbler with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Leftovers can be reheated in a 350-degree oven until warmed through.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees.
- Peel peaches (see note), then halve and pit each. Using small spoon, scoop out and discard dark flesh from pit area. Cut each half into 4 wedges. Gently toss peaches and sugar together in large bowl; let stand for 30 minutes, tossing several times. Drain peaches in colander set over large bowl. Whisk 1/4 cup of drained juice (discard extra), cornstarch, lemon juice, and salt together in small bowl. Toss peach juice mixture with peach slices and transfer to 8-inch-square glass baking dish. Bake until peaches begin to bubble around edges, about 10 minutes.
- While peaches are baking, in food processor, pulse flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to combine. Scatter butter over and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, about ten 1-second pulses. Transfer to medium bowl; add yogurt and toss with rubber spatula until cohesive dough is formed. (Don't overmix dough or biscuits will be tough.) Break dough into 6 evenly sized but roughly shaped mounds and set aside.
- After peaches have baked 10 minutes, remove peaches from oven and place dough mounds on top, spacing them at least 1/2 inch apart (they should not touch). Sprinkle each mound with portion of remaining 1 teaspoon sugar. Bake until topping is golden brown and fruit is bubbling, 16 to 18 minutes. Cool cobbler on wire rack until warm, about 20 minutes; serve.
for the filling
for the topping
to assemble and bake
Time
55 minutes, plus 30 minutes macerating and 20 minutes coolingYield
Serves 6Ingredients
Filling
Biscuit Topping
Ingredients
Filling
Biscuit Topping
Ingredients
Filling
Biscuit Topping
Why This Recipe Works
The most perplexing problem we encountered when developing our peach cobbler recipe was the wide variation in juiciness from peach to peach, which sometimes resulted in a baking dish overflowing with liquid. We tried a technique used to make another American dessert classic—strawberry shortcake—in which the fruit is macerated in sugar to draw out its juices. Sugar did indeed draw off some of the moisture from the peaches, but we had to replenish the cobbler with 1/4 cup of the drawn juice to guarantee a peach cobbler recipe that would yield the same amount of liquid every time.
Before You Begin
If your peaches are firm, you should be able to peel them with a vegetable peeler. If they are too soft and ripe to withstand the pressure of a peeler, you'll need to blanch and shock them before peeling. In the biscuit topping, low-fat or nonfat plain yogurt can be used in place of whole milk yogurt, but the biscuits will be a little less rich. If you live in an arid climate, the biscuit dough may require up to an additional tablespoon of yogurt for it to form a cohesive dough. Do not prepare the biscuit dough any sooner than the recipe indicates; if the unbaked dough is left to stand too long, the leavener will expire and the biscuits will not rise properly in the oven. This recipe can be doubled to serve a crowd. Use a 13 by 9-inch baking dish and increase the baking times in steps 2 and 4 by about 5 minutes. Serve the warm cobbler with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Leftovers can be reheated in a 350-degree oven until warmed through.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees.
- Peel peaches (see note), then halve and pit each. Using small spoon, scoop out and discard dark flesh from pit area. Cut each half into 4 wedges. Gently toss peaches and sugar together in large bowl; let stand for 30 minutes, tossing several times. Drain peaches in colander set over large bowl. Whisk 1/4 cup of drained juice (discard extra), cornstarch, lemon juice, and salt together in small bowl. Toss peach juice mixture with peach slices and transfer to 8-inch-square glass baking dish. Bake until peaches begin to bubble around edges, about 10 minutes.
- While peaches are baking, in food processor, pulse flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to combine. Scatter butter over and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, about ten 1-second pulses. Transfer to medium bowl; add yogurt and toss with rubber spatula until cohesive dough is formed. (Don't overmix dough or biscuits will be tough.) Break dough into 6 evenly sized but roughly shaped mounds and set aside.
- After peaches have baked 10 minutes, remove peaches from oven and place dough mounds on top, spacing them at least 1/2 inch apart (they should not touch). Sprinkle each mound with portion of remaining 1 teaspoon sugar. Bake until topping is golden brown and fruit is bubbling, 16 to 18 minutes. Cool cobbler on wire rack until warm, about 20 minutes; serve.
for the filling
for the topping
to assemble and bake
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