Peaches are in season! It’s time for the best dessert ever – amaretto, ginger, maple one step peach cobbler – or something like that. I guess the name needs some revision. We were planning a weekend cookout for an undetermined number of guests – the result of having a son who feels he must randomly ask anyone he runs into to come on over for Sunday supper. That means relying on crowd friendly cookout recipes that can be put together in advance like deviled eggs and potato salad. Dessert is not to be ignored and a delicious dish that would satisfy everyone’s sweet tooth was a necessity. With that in mind, I made a great big wonderful peach cobbler. It smelled so incredible that I had to hide it on a top kitchen shelf so it wouldn’t get sampled (devoured) before dinner. I might have had a taste or so, but it was for research purposes only.
This recipe is actually a remake of the easiest cobbler recipe that good southern cooks know by heart. It goes like this – melt butter in the casserole you’ll be using for your cobbler. Mix together the milk, flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder and pour it over the butter – don’t stir! The fruit - peaches in this case- goes on top, put the casserole back in the oven - and that is all there is to it. Now to those peaches – I could have peeled them, chopped them up a bit, added some sugar, and it would have been just fine and dandy.
But, why not play a little? I had amaretto on hand, which is just notoriously good with peaches, fresh ginger is always in the fridge, and – well – I saw the maple syrup when I opened up the fridge and thought it might be just the thing. It was, it was all just amazing together.
The point of this recipe is to keep it simple, but yummy so if you are making this and missing the amaretto, the ginger, or the maple syrup – it will still be wonderful. Make it ahead of time so you don’t have to cook with company present. Serve it with ice cream if you want to or whipped cream or just all by itself. Most of all, make sure to have a little bit left over – it’s going to be your new breakfast favorite!
Something Special Peach Cobbler (how’s that for a name change!)
Ingredients
4 cups peaches, peeled and chopped (6 or 7)
¼ cup amaretto
2 Tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp fresh grated ginger (¼ tsp dried ginger)
1 stick butter
1 cup whole milk (I used a mix of 2% and half & half)
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
In a mixing bowl, combine peaches with the amaretto, syrup, and ginger.
Melt butter in a 9x13 casserole dish (or similar capacity) in the oven.
Combine milk, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt and stir until smooth.
Pour flour mixture over the melted butter. DO NOT STIR.
Pour peaches and their liquid over the batter. DO NOT STIR.
Bake the cobbler for 40 minutes or until the top is lightly browned and the batter is set.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
