Best & Easy Southern Peach Cobbler

Life is better than death, I believe, if only because it is less boring, and because it has fresh peaches in it.
― Alice Walker

I have been meaning to post on this recipe for a couple months but just haven't gotten around to it. This spring, we were able to enjoy our last peaches from the neighbors' tree. Those neighbors, who dropped by just to say hi, to bring us produce when they bought extra for us to enjoy, the ones to offered to babysit and watched our house when we were gone--you know the ones that you laugh, cry, and pray with--those neighbors had become our family. The peaches were just bonus. I'll never be able to eat another peach again without remembering Henry Groves back his truck into their driveway up the hill and raise my daughter up into the peach tree so she could pull the fruit off the branches.

Just look at these fuzzy little beauties!!! Their smell was simply intoxicating.

We eagerly awaited their harvest and battled the squirrels for the best ones. I asked what I could do to repay them for these gifts and Henry said, 'make me a cobbler.' I laughed. Of course, I'd only made one peach cobbler before in my life and it wasn't that good. So here went effort #2....it was worth it. I would like to thank Southern Living for a totally uncomplicated, straight-forward and easy recipe.

For the record, I think the best peaches are from Gaffney, South Carolina. You convinced me sisters-in-law. You really did. Here's the town symbol off the highway (image courtesy of wikipedia). It's right next to the outlets...so double the reason to go!!!

I've seen peaches these first couple weeks of August at the farmer's markets and produce stands so if you happen to find some good peaches, I suggest you try this easy and delicious peach cobbler recipe! I'd like to try it with some whole wheat pastry flour next time--I tried the light butter before, but the real butter really makes it better in this case. Splurge.

There is no need to peel the fruit and the reviewers say you can use frozen peaches too or any kind of berries you like! My daughter had fun watching the batter rise up around the fruit through the oven window. Enjoy this delicious dessert with some vanilla bean ice-cream or frozen yogurt.

EASY PEACH COBBLER
Adapted from Southern Living

Serves 8-10

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar, divided (I used slightly less)
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 1 cup milk 
• 4 cups fresh peach slices (I used more like 5 1/2 cups)
• 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice 
• Ground cinnamon or nutmeg (optional--but I used a pinch of both--so worth it!)

1. 
   
2. Melt butter in a 13- x 9-inch baking dish.
3. Combine flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt; add milk, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour batter over butter (do not stir).
4. Bring remaining 1 cup sugar, peach slices, and lemon juice to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly; pour over batter (do not stir). Sprinkle with cinnamon, if desired.
5. Bake at 375° for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. 
6. Serve cobbler warm (pull out the ice-cream!) or cool.

Whole Grain Cottage Cheese Blender Waffles with Peach Melba Conserve Topping

I love waffles. So much. Baked goods for breakfast are another weakness. However, we always seem to need additional protein with such breakfasts because we get hungry again within a couple hours of eating waffles or pancakes. So, I wondered about trying cottage cheese in my waffles and tried researching online to see if anyone had tried making waffles with cottage cheese. I stumbled upon this great blog: www.gethealthywithheather.com  and also read about trying the batter in the blender. This was my first attempt at making the batter in the blender--now I'm hooked. It's easier to pour them into the waffle maker this way.

You absolutely cannot even tell these are whole grain either (well, I couldn't). And, you will not be able to 'taste' the cottage cheese; so if anyone in your family is averse to it, you can still try it. The waffle recipe below is Heather's recipe with my changes in the italics.

In addition, I love fresh fruit on top of my waffles but the peaches I picked at the orchard a few weeks ago seemed a little spotted. My mom always makes conserves or compote with excess fruit--but I wanted to try making something similar but with maple syrup instead of processed sugar. I LOOOOVED the result of these conserves. If you liked my Quick Blackberry Jam with Agave Nectar, you will probably like this too. Now, I wish I would have made double the peach melba topping, because it was that good!

WHOLE GRAIN COTTAGE CHEESE BLENDER WAFFLES
Adapted from www.gethealthywithheather.com

These waffles are a bit more cake-like, but they crisp up pretty good in the toaster when reheated.

Serves ~4-5

• 1 1/4 cups whole wheat PASTRY flour (purchase at Whole Foods or other natural food store)
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. flax meal, ground (optional--my addition)
• 2 Tbsp. wheat germ (optional--my addition)
• 1 cup reduced fat cottage cheese
• 4 eggs (I used 3 eggs + 1 egg white)
• 1 cup milk (I used low-fat buttermilk)
• 1 tsp. vanilla (I skipped this because I was out of extract)
• 1 Tbsp. maple syrup (optional)

Turn your waffle iron on and begin to heat it up while you make the batter.

Whisk together the flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder in large bowl (add flax meal and wheat germ, if using).

In a blender combine the cottage cheese, eggs, milk, and vanilla (plus optional maple syrup). Blend until smooth. Gently add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients into the blender. Process JUST until well combined.
Once the waffle iron is ready, coat it generously with olive oil spray. Pour the batter (from the blender) into the hot waffle iron (about 1 cup batter) and cook until your waffle iron lights up as done (or screeches as mine tends to do). Repeat with remaining batter until batter is all used up.

Serve the waffles warm. (Heather suggests almond butter and applesauce and I can't wait to try that next time!)

PEACH MELBA CONSERVES

Makes ~2 jars of conserve (about 26-30 ounces)

• 4 cups fresh peaches, diced and peeled
• 1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries, rinsed and dried
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• Juice of 1/2 a small lemon

In a medium pot, bring all ingredients to a boil. Reduce heat and let the fruit simmer for about 25-30 minutes or until the juices have thickened and evaporated some (mix the fruit once in a while). Turn off the flame and keep covered until ready to serve over the waffles.
Store covered in the refrigerator. Keeps for several weeks. Extra conserves can be frozen as well. But ours never last that long because this mixture is so delicious over toast or eaten straight out of the jar. YUM!

To serve: Plate 2 waffles for each person with some peach melba conserves and sprinkle with 1-2 tsp. sliced almonds.

Amaretto Peach Blueberry Crisp

Ever since my email friend, Jenn, mentioned to me a few years ago that she loved Giada's Nectarine-Blueberry Crisp, I've been wanting to try it. Problem has always been that I never had that many nectarines on hand....we like a few here and there, but we're mainly a peach household. So, why not try peaches? The best thing about this crisp is the almond flavors--so intricately woven as part of the filling (amaretto), the crisp topping (amaretti cookies), and crunch (actual almonds).

The Amaretti cookies are SOOOO wonderful! I wish I could have made them, but alas, I found my way to the International grocery store for convenience. And I was so excited to discover that one of my International grocery stores carries natural sugar (packed as in bulk) for less than half of what it costs at Whole Foods (per pound)--so I use that whenever I can; because, honestly, how much sugar do we use? Not much! It's worth it.

Of course I modified this crisp to make it slightly healthier--below is my modified version. Here is Giada's. I recommend NOT using frozen blueberries--not sure why, but I could tell the difference in texture (I used some frozen & fresh).

I hope you enjoy it. If you make it with nectarines, let me know how it varies.

AMARETTO PEACH BLUEBERRY CRISP

Topping:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar or raw natural sugar (such as Turbinado)
1 cup crushed amaretti cookies, coarsely crushed
3/4 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup (1 stick) light butter, cut into small pieces (preferably at room temperature)

Filling:
2 Tbsp. sugar (any kind)
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/2 cup almonds, chopped
3 lbs. peaches or nectarines, pitted and sliced into thick wedges
8 oz. blueberries
3 Tbsp. Amaretto liqueur

To make the topping: Stir the flours and sugar in a medium bowl to blend. Add the cookies and almonds and mix well. Add the butter and rub in until moist clumps form. This is what the cookies look like:

To make the filling: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 13 by 9 by 2-inch glass baking dish. Stir the sugar and flour in a large bowl. Add the peaches/nectarines and blueberries, and toss to combine. Stir in the liqueur.

Spoon the fruit mixture into the prepared dish. Sprinkle the cookie topping over. Bake until the peaches/nectarines are tender and the topping is golden and crisp, about 45 minutes. Cool at least 10 minutes. Spoon the warm crisp into bowls.

Makes 8-10 servings.

Serve with vanilla ice cream (Giada recommends mascarapone cheese, but really?!).