Old Fashioned Peach Cobbler

Ingredient list

• Peaches: the first choice is using fresh, juicy peaches, peeled or left whole. But nectarines or frozen peach slices also work.
• Buttermilk or plain yogurt: they give a slight tang and tenderness to the biscuit dough.
• Brown sugar: I added a variation to use a mix of white and brown sugar because sometimes we want it sweeter (white) but with a hint of caramel (brown).
• Cornstarch: it turns the peach juices into a syrupy sauce, one of this dessert's best parts. The tablespoon of cornstarch in this recipe acts as a thickening agent. Some recipes call for quick-cooking tapioca, but I never used it.
• Lemon juice: brings out the rest of the flavors and balances the sweetness and starchiness of the recipe.
• Cinnamon: any ground cinnamon you normally use works fine. I like Frontier Vietnamese cinnamon and Simply Organic Ceylon cinnamon. 
• All-purpose or cake flour: using them with baking powder is a way to control the amount of leavening. But you can use a cup of self-rising flour if it's all you have.
• Baking powder: make sure it's not expired.
• Salt: I like to use kosher salt when baking. But regular table salt works just fine.
• Ginger: it's optional, but renders a unique flavor that complements the peaches and cinnamon wonderfully.

Peach cobbler filling

As with the topping, this step is as simple as mixing sliced peaches with the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl.

The magic happens once the dessert is baking and the fruit juice mix with the rest of the ingredients to create a wonderful syrup that you'll want to eat with a spoon directly from the baking dish.

• Cutting the peaches: you can slice them thinner, thicker, or cut into chunks. The thinner they are, the more they will soften as they bake. I like to use thicker wedges, about 8 per peach, so that they keep their shape while baking.
• Peach skin: I peel some and leave others with the skin. When in season, the skin is usually thinner and I'm OK with leaving some of it. But this is up to your personal taste.
• Flavorings: the peach mixture flavor can be customized. We use ground cinnamon and ginger. But you can also add a few drops of vanilla extract to make it mellower and/or orange zest to add another flavor layer.

Biscuit topping for cobbler (top crust)

This is extremely easy to assemble, as you simply stir the ingredients in a bowl until you have a wet dough.

• Melted butter: adds flavor and makes the top crust very easy to put together, as opposed to working cold butter into the flour mixture as we do for the old-fashioned blueberry cobbler.
• Yogurt or buttermilk: it adds tanginess and tenderness to the biscuit topping. An excellent idea because we don't want a heavy top crust, we want the biscuits to bake as light as possible. If using buttermilk, reduce the amount to about ½ a cup. The topping batter needs to be thick, so start with a scant half a cup and see if you need more.
• Flavorings: add a little cinnamon or nutmeg to the biscuit mix.

Vintage Kitchen tip: don't overmix! You don't want to develop gluten which will make the biscuits tough. Once the flour is incorporated, stop mixing.

Assembling a cobbler

• Type of baking dish: I like to use a glass or ceramic baking dish for cobblers. They can be square like in this recipe, rectangular like the pear cobbler, or oval like the blueberry cobbler. They all work just fine. This dessert is served family-style, so choose a cobbler dish you like to take to the table.
• Cast iron skillet: another popular way of baking a cobbler. You can use an 8-inch skillet for this recipe.
• Ratio: we're talking about the amount of filling to topping, which is, in my opinion, the most critical part of the assembly. Do you like more fruit filling than top crust? This is important to consider because we should constantly adjust our favorite recipes to what works best for us. I like a lot of filling so that the peach flavor is very present and a lot of juice is released.
• Crunchier topping: you can sprinkle an extra tablespoon of sugar on top of the batter before it goes into the oven to create an even crisper layer.

Vintage Kitchen tip: if you feel you want more fruit or more topping, I recommend you adjust the amount of filling. Adding or removing a few extra peaches is easier than adjusting the biscuit dough.

Storing

• Room temperature - this easy peach cobbler recipe keeps well without refrigeration for a day, covered in plastic wrap.
• Refrigerator - after a day, cover or use an airtight container and keep refrigerated. Fruit tends to ferment pretty quickly, especially in warm weather, and we certainly don't want that to happen!
• Freezing - you can freeze the baked dessert in the baking pan and defrost it directly in a medium/low oven (about 300°F/150°C) until it's bubbling again. Or thaw at room temperature and warm before eating.