Blog Memories: Peach Cobbler Made with Fruits from My Orchard
My blog team is taking a brief summer break, so for the next week we'll be posting some of our favorite blogs from years past. This one was originally posted on July 24, 2024.
No plants give sweeter returns than fruit trees.
Fresh fruit is one of nature's most delicious products. My large orchard here at my farm has more than 200 fruit trees. I grow peaches, apples, pears, cherries, quinces, medlars, etc. Most of the fruits are not ready to pick, but many of the peaches are ripe and sweet. After harvesting several trays this week, I decided to make peach cobbler - one of those delicious summertime desserts one waits all year to enjoy. I used a cobbler recipe from Martha: The Cookbook: 100 Favorite Recipes, with Lessons and Stories from My Kitchen.
Here are some photos.
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- This is one of the season’s most anticipated harvests – my peaches. My peach trees are so productive – look at all these fruits, and there are still so many more on the trees.
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- When picking peaches, color is a great indicator of maturity. Peaches are ripe when the ground color of the fruit changes from green to completely yellow and the fruit is a bright red-orange.
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- If the peach is firm to the touch, it’s not ready. It’s ripe when there is some “give” as it is gently squeezed. Some could have used a little more time, but we wanted to get them before the squirrels.
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- Another indicator of ripeness is if the peach separates easily from the tree when pulled.
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- Peach tree leaves are oval-shaped and simple, with a length that is greater than the width. They are bold green in color, but turn yellow in the fall before falling.
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- After just minutes, we had all these peaches picked. I always use trays and place them in a single layer so they don’t get bruised.
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- Once the peaches are brought into my Winter House kitchen, they are pitted and sliced into wedges, and placed in a large stainless steel bowl.
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- Then they are sprinkled with one cup sugar and left in the fridge to macerate.
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- I added some blueberries picked from my bushes the same day.
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- While the oven was pre-heating to 375-degrees Fahrenheit, I buttered two baking dishes.
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- I prepared the filling – the fruits, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and salt and transferred the mixture into the dish.
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- I decided to use a buttermilk biscuit topping, so I prepared my ingredients – flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, butter, and buttermilk.
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- I combined the dry ingredients and then added the buttermilk until a soft, sticky dough was formed.
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- I turned out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface.
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- Then I rolled it out until it was about an inch thick.
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- Using a floured 2 1/4-inch round biscuit cutter I cut out the biscuits.
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- To be efficient, when cutting out the biscuits, do it as close together as possible.
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- The biscuits are spaced evenly on top of the fruit.
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- I brushed the tops with some buttermilk and then sprinkled them with sanding sugar.
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- Here they are all ready to go into the oven. I made two, so the recipe was doubled. Cobblers, crisps, buckles, and crumbles are all fruit desserts that are similar but have different toppings and textures. Cobbler has a top crust made of biscuit or pie dough, and usually no bottom crust.
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- The cobblers are cooked until the biscuits are golden brown and the fruit is bubbling in the center of the dish – about an hour and 15-minutes.
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- Just perfect out of the oven. Once done, let it cool about a half hour before serving. This dish is for my hardworking crew. I know they’ll love it!
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- Order your copy of my landmark 100th book “Martha: The Cookbook: 100 Favorite Recipes, with Lessons and Stories from My Kitchen” today from Clarkson Potter. I am so proud of this book. I know you’ll read it cover to cover and want to make every recipe!
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