Coconut Biscuit Peach Cobbler

I love cobblers! I love cobblers for their convenience, taste and all around delicious-ness! Whenever I need a dessert last minute, I make a cobbler! You take any fruit you have, mix it together with sugar, flour and spices, throw it in a dish, make a little crumble and viola, instant simple delicious dessert!

However, I have probably far exceeded my quota on fruit cobblers with crumbles so when I ran across this Coconut Biscuit Peach Cobbler I jumped at the chance to try it out.

This peach cobbler is the perfect bite of sweet, topical bliss! Don't forget to top it with a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream.

Also, fun tip! I actually learned this tip from an older woman in the grocery store! She saw me buying buttermilk and said "Honey, don't waste your money on that buttermilk, you can make your own at home." Now, no offense to my sweet little grocery friend but this "homemade" buttermilk is not quite the same. But when your in a pinch or don't want to buy half the buttermilk cow for only 1/3 c buttermilk, this tip works GREAT! Before you start the recipe, combine 1/3 c milk with 1 tsp. lemon juice. The lemon juice will thicken/ "curdle" the milk giving it the likeness of buttermilk!

Wishing you happy baking and sweeter days,
Lizzy

Coconut Peach Cobbler-
Recipe courtesy of Cuisine at home Issue No. 76

(Below I have made some modifications to the recipe that I found created a better result.)

For the Filling-
3 lb. ripe peaches, peeled,pitted, and sliced (6 cups) (3-4 medium peaches= 1lb)
2/3 cup sugar (always taste your peaches before adding sugar, I only added 1/3 c)
1 1/2 cups shredded sweetened coconut, divided
1 tsp ground ginger (I would say only add 1/2 tsp, I found the ginger a little overbearing)
1/2 tsp ground cardamom (This spice is not necessary but I always love cardamon and found it added a delicious flavor)
1 Tbsp cornstarch (The recipe did not call for cornstarch or flour but i found the filling to be extremely runny, the cornstarch and flour did the trick to thicken)
2 Tbsp flour
Juice of half a lemon (this is to prevent browning of the peaches)
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

For the Biscuit Topping-
2 cups all purpose flour (I use unbleached all purpose flour)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt (I never add salt to my desserts. But if your palate likes that combination, go for it:0)
1/4 cup shortening or unsalted butter (I used Crisco Butter Flavor Shortening)
1/3 cup buttermilk ("Homemade" Buttermilk tip above)
1 tsp. coconut extract
1-2 Tbsp milk
Ice cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Toss peaches with sugar, 1/2 cup coconut, and ginger for the filling. Reserve 1 cup coconut for biscuit and topping. Place fruit in a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate or in a square baking dish. Dot with butter.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt for the biscuit topping in a large bowl. Using a pastry blender (If you don't have a pastry blender, a fork will do the trick. Although, I highly recommend a pastry blender.) cut shortening into dry ingredients until mixture resembles small peas.

Stir in 1/2 cup of the remaining coconut, buttermilk, and coconut extract. (I had to add an extract 2 tablespoons of milk because my dough was too dry to knead. But gauge your mixture before adding or subtracting liquid.) Lightly knead mixture until all ingredients are incorporated.

Form dough into a ball; let rest for 5 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a circle about 8 inches in diameter and 1/2 inch thick. Carefully lay biscuit dough over peach filling; (I cut the excess dough off around the edge to make it prettier). Brush dough with milk. Scatter remaining 1/2 cup coconut over biscuit topping. (When baking keep an eye on the coconut on top, I noticed my was getting very dark. For convection ovens, you may need to cover for the first 10 mins, then uncover for the remaining.)

Bake cobbler until a toothpick inserted in the center of the biscuit topping comes out clean, about 30 mins. Cool 5-10 minutes. Serve with ice cream, if desired.
 

Life is Such A Peach

My Dad once said "If heaven were to smell like one certain something, I think it would smell like fresh picked peaches". I couldn't agree more, Dad.
Every year, my family and I go pick peaches at Legend Hills Orchard in Utica, Ohio. This has been a family tradition for over 49 years! We're serious about our peaches. When we're out there among the rows and rows of delectable fruit within our reach, we tend to go overboard. Always getting WAY more peaches than necessary then realizing after a few days we need to do something with this multitude of fruit. We cannot let something so delicious go to waste.
Pies and cobblers are a delicious option, so is a yummy jam. But we're mid-summer, in the "heat" of it, a sherbert seems like the right kind of late night July treat.
This is my first time making a Peach Sherbet but I have added some notes below to help with your results!

If you don't have an ice cream machine, do not fret. I think close results can be achieved by putting the sherbet mixture in a bowl, into the freezer and stir every 30 mins or so until you get a nice consistency. You'll freeze it the rest of the way for it to get hard. It's all about churning air into the mixture so the more you stir the better. Also, ice cream machines are an awesome kitchen investment. Frozen yogurts, sorbets, sherbets and homemade ice cream are very easy to make and an all year round favorite. Cuisnart makes some very reasonably priced machines and a reliable product.

Wishing you happy cooking and sweeter days,
Lizzy

Sparkling Peach Sherbet-

Recipe courtesy of Cuisine at home Issue No. 88

Makes 1 pint

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar (the recipe calls for 1 c but this year the peaches were very sweet so I went with 1/2c)
1/3 sparkling wine or club soda (I used club soda in mine)
1/4 cup honey
2 lb. fresh peaches (3-4 medium peaches= 1 lb)
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice (this is to prevent the peaches from browning in the chilling process)
1 c plain yogurt (I used Chobani Plain Greek yogurt, next time I'm going to use Chobani Vanilla Greek Yogurt. I think it would add another level of flavor.)

Heat the sugar, club soda and honey in a saucepan over high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Chill mixture until cold. (I put mine in the freezer to speed the chilling process up.)

Bring a lard pot of water to boil (I just used a medium saucepan).

Prepare a large bowl of ice water.

Score an X into the bottom of each peach. Blanch half of the peaches in the boiling water for about 30 seconds, then transfer to a bowl of ice water to shock. Repeat blanching and shocking with remaining peaches.

(Note: leave peaches in ice water for about a minute. Do not leave them in too long. I found the skin started to adhere back to the flesh of the peach making it more difficult to remove.)

Peel peaches and cut in half removing pits. (Be very careful when doing this step. The peaches are very slippery. Don't want to lose any fingers over a slippery peach;0)
Puree peaches in a food processor, then pass puree through a fine-mesh sieve.
(You could definitely use a blender or hand blender. Just make sure you get the chunks of peaches pureed.) Stir in lemon juice and chill until cold.

Whisk yogurt and chilled sugar syrup into chilled peach puree.

Transfer sherbet mixture to a 1-2 quart ice cream machine; process sherbet according to manufacturer's directions, about 25 minutes. (I have a Cuisinart Supreme Commercial Ice Cream Maker and it took about 40 mins in my machine.)

Transfer sherbet to a freezer container and smooth the top. Press plastic wrap directly onto the top of sherbet. Cover container with a lid and freeze until firm, at least 3-4 hours. (Whenever I make any type of frozen treat, I place it in the coldest part of my fridge, which is usual the ice box) Sherbet can be stored in freezer up to 1 month. (In our house, it won't last that long. It'll be gone in a couple days:0)