Farmers' Market Friday : peach & blueberry cobbler

One of my favorite cakes I've made features caramelized peaches with a buttery cake textured with the addition of cornmeal. I've made it as is with just peaches, or added blueberries to the peaches, or switched them out for nectarines or plums. It's delicious, but a little time consuming to make, so I was looking for a way to get the same flavors together in an easier format, when I came across this recipe for peach cobbler with cornmeal biscuit topping, from the website for the same farmers' market from where I bought my peaches and berries.

I've adapted the recipe slightly--the one on Fresh Farm's website sounds great as is, but I love the combination of peaches with blueberries (and I like to make cobbler topping with powdered sugar for the texture). I made a large version for a Labor Day BBQ to say goodbye to summer; I had to leave before the cobbler was served, but I was assured it was "scarfed down"... which is exactly what I did with the individual portion I ate for breakfast this morning. (NB: don't miss the bonus recipe at the bottom!)

INGREDIENTS

You'll notice I forgot to peel my peaches.

2 pounds peaches
2 cups blueberries
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 tbsp granulated sugar

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Using a vegetable peeler, peel the peached and cut into cubes. Mix peaches, blueberries, sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice in a bowl (or right in the 2-quart dish you'll bake this in, at least 2 inches deep--or individual ramekins as pictured above).

For the cobbler topping, combine all dry ingredients (except granulated sugar). Stir in cream to make stiff dough (like a biscuit*). If you can, let the dough rest 10-15 minutes (but for the large cobbler I made I did no such thing and it turned out fine).

You can roll the dough out into a 3/4 inch thick rectangle, then use a straight edge to cut the dough into cubes carefully arranged on top of the fruit. Or, you can pat it out to the shape of your dish/dishes and cover the entire dish in one go, or pat the dough out and tear off pieces and drop those on top of the fruit. It will taste delicious no matter what.

If you cut the dough into cubes, before cutting it, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with the granulated sugar. If you use one big piece or a couple of big pieces, you can wait to do this until putting the dough on top of the fruit, but you'll want to make sure you do this, for crunch (from the sugar) and color (from the butter).

Bake until the juice the fruit has rendered is bubbling (the blueberries will turn that deep purple they tend to once they've cooked), and the biscuits are golden brown, at least 30 minutes but possible more. Make sure the biscuits are baked through.

Let the cobbler cool a bit before eating--and definitely serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream if you have it.

*Bonus recipe: reduce the sugar to 1/4 cup and add some fresh rosemary or thyme, sprinkle with more herbs or cheese before baking, and this makes a killer savory biscuit or pot pie topping!