When I went to the farmers market on Saturday, I already had peach cobbler on the brain, so I picked up some beautiful Sweet Scarlet peaches from Tiny’s Organic. They cost almost twice as much as the going rate at other stands, but it was worth it. Sweet Scarlet is a yellow-fleshed peach, and it’s lower in acid, so you get the pretty color of a yellow peach with the sweetness of a white one. I swear the sign said they were freestones (the Internet appears to differ on that point), but when I got them home…they just weren’t. Those little guys were clinging to their pits as if holding on for dear life.
And then I uttered what may be one of the saddest sentences spoken on a summer Sunday afternoon, second only to, “The grill is out of propane.”
“Turns out, they’re not freestones.”
You know that feeling, right? You’re cutting around the pit, you twist, and it doesn’t budge. It’s just not separating. You’re gonna get less actual fruit out of this than you thought. Luckily I had a couple of nectarines stashed in the fridge to round out the amount of fruit I needed and got a filling with a nice blush to boot.
When choosing your peaches, pick fruit that’s ripe, but not overripe, since you’re going to peel them with a vegetable peeler. You also want the peaches to provide enough juice to create a good amount of goo. On those counts, Sweet Scarlet was a good choice.
What I like about this recipe, adapted from America’s Test Kitchen, is the macerating and pre-baking of the fruit before the cobbles go on for the final bake. Those two steps also help tell you how much goo you’re going to have before it even goes into the oven. And let’s face it, when you top this cobbler with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, you want a good amount of goo.
Peach and Nectarine Cobbler
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 lbs. peaches and nectarines (about 6-8 smallish ones + 2 medium nectarines)
- 1/4 c. brown sugar
- 1/2 t. cinnamon
- 1 t. cornstarch
- 1 T. lemon juice
- 1 c. all-purpose flour
- 5 T. cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 in. cubes
- 3/4 t. baking powder
- 1/4 t. baking soda
- 1/4 t. salt
- 3 T. granulated sugar
- 1/3 c. plain yogurt (I used non-fat Fage, but go whole milk, if you can)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425F. Peel fruit with a vegetable peeler and pit them. No need to peel the nectarines. Cut each half into 1/2 in. slices and put in a large bowl. Mix in brown sugar, cinnamon and cornstarch and set aside to macerate for 30 minutes. Put the peaches and nectarines in an 8x8 baking dish or similarly sized cast-iron skillet and bake for 10 minutes.
While the fruit is in the oven, pulse the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar in a food processor until combined. Cut in the butter until it's pea sized. Transfer the flour/butter mixture into a bowl and stir in the yogurt just until the dough comes together. Don't overmix, you want tender cobbles. Divide the dough evenly into 6 mounds and space them half an inch apart on top of the fruit. The cobbles shouldn't touch.
Bake for 16-18 minutes until the cobbles are golden brown and juices are bubbly and thickened.
