Monday, August 3, 2009

Peach Cobbler

Some friends of mine just welcomed a new baby into the world at the end of June. I was thrilled.

Now, here is some information for you. I have no experience with newborns. None. I'm the youngest of 3. I have no nieces or nephews, none of my other friends have had any babies. Sure, some of my cousins have had babies, but I've never had the opportunity to see the babies until they're a few months old.

I spent a good bit of my teenage years babysitting, and even had my cousin and her 1 year old live with us for awhile when I was about 8 years old, but there is a HUGE difference between a newborn and a one year old (or even a 3 month old!). I couldn't wait meet this tiny new little person.

I got my chance a couple weekends ago. My friends invited me over for a lunch cookout. They were grilling hamburgers and hanging out on a Saturday and I joined up with them to hang out, play with their incredibly adorable 2 year old daughter and meet the newest addition to the family.

Holy crap! I couldn't believe how so very tiny she was. She is a beautiful baby and since she was born a few weeks early, she mostly just slept the entire time I was there. When my friend picked her up and put her in her lap for a feeding, I couldn't help but think about how much she looked like a little doll baby. So precious and fragile that I was too terrified to ask to hold her. (It's probably a good thing. My ovaries already ache with want everytime I see and play with their 2 year old daughter, I'm not sure they'd be able to handle holding a newborn, too).

It was a great way to spend an afternoon.

I wanted to take a dessert for the cookout and I had some delicious fresh, Tennessee peaches that I'd picked up at the farmers market earlier in the week. This recipe was perfect. I was able to whip it together fast the morning of, and by the time we cut into it, it had time to set up, but still tasted fresh and it was ALMOST still warm. Served with vanilla ice cream, of course. The perfect summer dessert.

Peach Cobbler

This is a sweet peach cobbler. Very sweet. It's how we southerners like our cobblers. You could easily cut back on the sugar in the recipe, if you like your desserts a little more sophisticated. But, I don't work like that. I like my desserts trashy and filled with loads of sugar. Yum.

Batter Ingredients:
12 tbsp of butter
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsps baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 room temperature egg

Filling:
6 peaches sliced (I left the peel on)
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp of cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp of vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place butter in a 9x13 inch pan and place in the oven to melt.

Mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

Stir in the cream and the egg.

When the butter is melted, pull the pan out of the oven and pour the batter directly into the melted butter.

In a bowl, combine the peaches, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla. Then pour the peach mixture directly onto the batter. DO NOT STIR the peaches into the batter. Just pour it on top.

Bake for 35-45 minutes until batter rises up over the peaches and is golden brown.

Allow to cool and set until just warm.