Cornmeal Drop-Biscuit Peach Cobbler Recipe

The Lee Bros. Simple Fresh Southern | Clarkson Potter, 2009

Don’t let the ingredient list below fool you; it may appear long, but this peach cobbler is the simplest of impressive desserts. It packs all the comfort and wow-factor of pie with none of the crust-hustle or the hour-long baking time. In fact, this recipe rewards the messy hand. The cobbler truly looks most sensuous when you top the fruit with the dough patchily, so that the syrup bubbles through the crust in spots.–Matt and Ted Lee

LC Peach Fuzz Note

If you don’t care for the gently nubbly texture of peach fuzz in your cobbler, we have a pretty simple, slick process to dispense of them. Bring a pot of water to a boil, cut a small “x” over the bottom of each peach (as in, the opposite of the stem end), and plop the peach in the burbling water for 30 seconds or so. Then just fish it out with a slotted spoon and rinse under cool water. The skins will slip right off when you coax them with your fingertips.

Hands-On Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour | Serves 4 to 6

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Ingredients

For the peach filling
2 pounds (6 to 7) ripe freestone peaches, unpeeled, pitted, and cut into slices (about 6 cups)
1/2 to 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar, depending on your peaches and your sweet tooth
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons water (if the fruit is very ripe or overripe, omit the water)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
For the biscuit dough
3/4 cup (3 ounces) sifted all-purpose flour
1/4 cup fine stone-ground cornmeal (yellow or white)
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon iodized salt or fine sea salt
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for the baking dish
1/2 cup cold buttermilk (whole or low-fat)

Directions

Make the filling
1. Heat the oven to 425°F (218°C).
2. Butter a 2-quart ovenproof dish. Add the peaches, brown sugar, lemon juice, water (if using), cinnamon, and salt and toss until the peaches are evenly coated. Let stand for 10 minutes while you prepare the drop-biscuit dough.
Make the drop-biscuit dough
3. In a bowl, sift together the flour, cornmeal, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter and cut it into the flour by pinching small amounts of the mixture together between your fingertips. Do this until the mixture resembles coarse meal with pea-size pieces of butter mixed throughout. Add the buttermilk and stir with a rubber spatula just until a tacky, wet dough comes together, which should take no more than a few seconds.
4. Gently plop spoonfuls of the biscuit dough on top of the peach filling or, if the dough is too sticky to plop, simply spread it unevenly. The dough should be patchy and should not cover the entire surface of the filling.
5. Bake until the cobbler’s syrup is bubbly and the biscuit top is alluringly browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool slightly.
6. Scoop the warm cobbler into small dessert bowls, ramekins, even cocktail glasses. Serve warm.

Hungry for more? Chow down on these:

Grilled Peach Dessert from Real Mom Kitchen
Cherry Cobbler from 101 Cookbooks
Apricot Blackberry Cobbler from Leite's Culinaria
Ginger Pear and Raspberry Pandowdy from Leite's Culinaria