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.