Lady and Son's Peach Cobbler

Last night, I made one of my favorite recipes of 2007 which was previously featured in this blog, Giada's Baked Penne with Roasted Vegetables. I wanted dessert but didn't want to spend a lot of time making it. I saw this recipe for peach cobbler and it seemed simple enough. The preparation seemed a little unusual but the result was outstanding. I can't wait to try this recipe with fresh blackberries. This is a great recipe to throw together in a pinch. If you don't have self-rising flour you can make it yourself. For one cup of all purpose flour, add 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt. I only had a regular size can of peaches and it turned out fine. I also found it needed to cook for the whole 45 minutes.

Lady and Son's Peach Cobbler
Recipe Courtesy of Paula Deen

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup self-rising flour
1 cup milk
1 (28-ounce) can sliced peaches in heavy syrup, un-drained (use fresh peaches if available; see note*)
Cinnamon, for sprinkling, optional
Vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream, for serving*

If they are available, by all means use fresh peaches. In a saucepan, mix 2 cups fresh peach slices with one cup sugar and one cup water. Bring the mixture to a boil and then simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir often, making sure the sugar is completely dissolved. Substitute this for the canned peaches.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Put butter in a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish and place in the oven to melt. Stir sugar and flour together and mix well. Slowly add milk and continue stirring to prevent the batter from lumping.

Being careful not to burn yourself, remove hot baking dish containing melted butter from oven; pour batter directly over butter in baking dish. Do not stir.

Spoon fruit on top of batter, then gently pour syrup on top. Do not stir. Sprinkle cinnamon on top of batter, if using. (The most important part of this dish is not stirring the mixture at this point in the recipe.)

Bake for 30 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. Your batter will rise above your fruit, producing the most wonderful of crusts. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream.