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Peach Cobbler for Two

By Rebeccah Marsters

Published on August 21, 2013

Time

55 minutes, plus 20 minutes cooling

Yield

Serves 2

Peach Cobbler for Two

Ingredients

FILLING

3 tablespoons packed brown sugar 1 tablespoon unsalted butter ⅛ teaspoon salt ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 ¼ pounds (567 grams) fresh peaches, or 1 pound (454 grams) frozen sliced peaches1 tablespoon water 1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

TOPPING

½ cup (2 ½ ounces/71 grams) all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar ½ teaspoon baking powder ⅛ teaspoon baking soda ⅛ teaspoon salt ¼ cup buttermilk 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Before You Begin

If you use frozen peaches, don’t thaw them, but do increase their cooking time in step 1 to about 7 minutes. A serrated peeler makes quick work of peeling fresh peaches. If you don’t have buttermilk, combine ¼ cup of milk with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and let the mixture sit for 10 minutes before proceeding with step 2 of the recipe.

Instructions

    for the filling

  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Combine sugar, butter, salt, and cinnamon in 8-inch ovensafe skillet over medium-high heat. Cook until sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes. Add peaches and cook, covered, until peaches release their juice, about 5 minutes. Whisk water, lemon juice, and flour together in bowl and stir into peaches. Off heat, stir in vanilla. Cover and set aside.
  2. for the topping

  3. Whisk flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in bowl. Add buttermilk and butter and stir until dough forms.
  4. Using spoon, drop 1-inch pieces of dough evenly over hot peach mixture in skillet. Sprinkle with remaining 1 teaspoon sugar and bake until topping is golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool on wire rack for 20 minutes. Serve.
Peach Cobbler for Two

Peach Cobbler for Two

Headshot of Rebeccah Marsters
By Rebeccah Marsters
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Time

55 minutes, plus 20 minutes cooling

Yield

Serves 2

Ingredients

FILLING

3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
⅛ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 ¼ pounds (567 grams) fresh peaches, or 1 pound (454 grams) frozen sliced peaches
1 tablespoon water
1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

TOPPING

½ cup (2 ½ ounces/71 grams) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
½ teaspoon baking powder
⅛ teaspoon baking soda
⅛ teaspoon salt
¼ cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

FILLING

3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
⅛ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 ¼ pounds (567 grams) fresh peaches, or 1 pound (454 grams) frozen sliced peaches
1 tablespoon water
1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

TOPPING

½ cup (2 ½ ounces/71 grams) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
½ teaspoon baking powder
⅛ teaspoon baking soda
⅛ teaspoon salt
¼ cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

FILLING

3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
⅛ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 ¼ pounds (567 grams) fresh peaches, or 1 pound (454 grams) frozen sliced peaches
1 tablespoon water
1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

TOPPING

½ cup (2 ½ ounces/71 grams) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
½ teaspoon baking powder
⅛ teaspoon baking soda
⅛ teaspoon salt
¼ cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Test Kitchen Techniques

Why This Recipe Works

To prevent soggy biscuits and a runny filling in our peach cobbler, we cook the peaches to concentrate the juices into a syrup. Caramelizing them in butter and brown sugar adds flavor at the same time. We found that a little bit of thickener helped tighten up the peach juices exuded during baking, and flour is our go-to choice. Lemon juice and vanilla round out the filling, and for convenience, we bake our cobbler right in the skillet. For the topping, a traditional buttermilk biscuit is our favorite. Dropping the biscuits on top while the filling is hot jump-starts the cooking, and a final sprinkling of sugar before it goes in the oven creates a crispy, craggy, golden-brown top.

Before You Begin

If you use frozen peaches, don’t thaw them, but do increase their cooking time in step 1 to about 7 minutes. A serrated peeler makes quick work of peeling fresh peaches. If you don’t have buttermilk, combine ¼ cup of milk with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and let the mixture sit for 10 minutes before proceeding with step 2 of the recipe.

Instructions

    for the filling

  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Combine sugar, butter, salt, and cinnamon in 8-inch ovensafe skillet over medium-high heat. Cook until sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes. Add peaches and cook, covered, until peaches release their juice, about 5 minutes. Whisk water, lemon juice, and flour together in bowl and stir into peaches. Off heat, stir in vanilla. Cover and set aside.
  2. for the topping

  3. Whisk flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in bowl. Add buttermilk and butter and stir until dough forms.
  4. Using spoon, drop 1-inch pieces of dough evenly over hot peach mixture in skillet. Sprinkle with remaining 1 teaspoon sugar and bake until topping is golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool on wire rack for 20 minutes. Serve.

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