The pickle man

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Peach Blueberry Cobbler

Here it is - my favorite summer dessert. 

I've been meaning to post this one for a while, but I kept forgetting to take pictures at the right stages. 

And technically, it's probably more of a crisp than a cobbler - but to me, a cobbler should have a crispy top.  And so many cobbler recipes are just for a square pie.  This is crispy and sweet on the outside, and warm-fruit-gooey on the inside.  Sigh - cobbler heaven. 

I've eaten way too much of this in the past two months - but I can't resist the peaches. 

For this recipe, you'll need a lot of peaches.  Four pounds or so, which for me was 10 peaches.  I used a mix of white and yellow peaches. 


First, get the hairy skins off.
When I'm just eating a peach, the skin doesn't bother me at all.  But in a cobbler/ crisp... well, it needs to go.

Bring a pot of water to a boil.  Drop in the peaches, a few at a time for about 1 minute.

Then dunk them in ice water.
Remove them and the skins will just slide off!
This trick amazes me every time.
Tada!  Naked peaches.
Halve them and take out the pits.
Then toss them in a bowl with some sugar and flour (amounts below).
Add the zest of 1/2 of an orange, and/ or a lemon.
Then add 1 pint of blueberries.
Toss to combine.  Let this sit and get juicy while you make the topping.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine butter, oatmeal, flour, sugar, and salt.  Sprinkle the mixture on top of the peach filling.
Cook for one to one and a half hours.  Everything will get bubbly and crunchy and delicious on the top.  


Serve with vanilla ice cream!

 Recipe, adapted from the Barefoot Contessa cookbook.

Ingredients:
4 pounds peaches (about 10 large ones), peeled, pitted, and sliced into wedges
1 lemon zested (or an orange, or a mixture of the two)
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 1/2 cups, plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 pint blueberries (the original recipe called for raspberries instead - also great, but not so easy to find around here)
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup quick cooking oatmeal
2 sticks of butter

Directions: 
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 
Combine the peaches, citrus zest, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 3 tablespoons of flour.  Toss well.  Gently mix in the blueberries.
Pour into a large casserole dish. 

Combine 1 1/2 cups of flour, 1 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, salt, oatmeal, and butter in a mixer with the paddle attachment (or a food processor with a steel blade).  Mix until crumbly.  Sprinkle evenly on top of the peaches and blueberries.  Bake for 1 hour (I usually need closer to 1 1/2).  Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream!

You can assemble this earlier in the day and keep it in the refrigerator.  Just take it out before you cook it and allow it to come back to room temperature (or thereabouts).  


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