Magical Fredericksburg Peach Cobbler

Growing up in Fred, Texas (at least from birth to fourteen) was quite the experience.  An experience that peaches never really played a role in.  Don’t get me wrong, Fred (what with all the rain it gets in South East Texas) is full of some wonderful homegrown food.  My childhood home had fig trees, pear trees, and even a satsuma orange tree but as far as peaches were concerned well… I guess there were some peach trees at mamaw and papaws house in Silsbee and they did have a horse at one-time named Peaches but I never really experienced peaches in all their glory until I moved to the Texas Hill Country.  Fredericksburg, Texas is only a 40-minute drive from Llano, Texas, which is where I spent from fourteen to eighteen at and now call home, and they have the best peaches I have ever had.  It is almost like an out of body experience when you first sink your teeth into a fresh Fredericksburg peach during peach season.  Juicy and sweet, they make it to were you don’t even care if your face and hands are getting sticky while you are eating them before you have the chance to even get them home!  

Well, with all that has been going on (ya know, that COVID-19 thing) I just haven’t really had the chance to make it to Fredericksburg that often this summer.  But, my husbands Uncle Al has saved me.  At least he inadvertently did.  He brought my in-laws a watermelon, a cantaloupe, and a ton of peaches today.  Well, my momma-in-law just knows how much I love to bake so she hustled herself and her other half (canes and all) over to my house to share the love.  I was so looking forward to making something with the peaches that I grabbed an old cookbook and started looking for some inspiration before they even set the bag down on the kitchen table.

Ann (the momma-in-law) and I started perusing.  Peach pie, peach cake, peach ice cream… oh, the possibilities.  Finally, she mentioned a cobbler that she always makes that starts out with the crust on the bottom and then it magically comes to the top while it’s being cooked.  Intrigued with this I latched onto it and did a little research.  I found a recipe in the old cookbook that sounded like it could work – and boy did I ever make it work.  Modified some and sweetened up a little this Magic peach cobbler is going to magically disappear in a day at my house and then magically reappear on my hips later.  Talk about taking something that is wonderful to start with and making it unbelievable!  Well, that is what I have done and I must say I am damn proud of it. 

Oh, and don’t forget to serve it up warm with a big ’ole scoop of vanilla ice cream.  

PREP: 20 minutes

COOK: 35 Minutes

Yield: 9×13 baking dish

Ingredients:

Cobbler –

• 1 stick (½ cup) salted butter
• ½ cup of granulated sugar
• 1 cup of flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ¾ cup of milk
• 2 cups (5 medium) peaches – peeled and sliced 

Note: An easy way to peel without wasting peach meat is to “X” the bottom and place them in boiling water for 1 minute.  Then place them into an ice bath for 1 minute.  The peeling slides right off.

Topping –

• ½ cup of granulated sugar
• ¼ cup light brown sugar
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350-degrees.
2. Prep, peel, and slice the peaches.
3. Put 1 stick of butter in a 9×13 baking dish and place the dish in the oven until the butter is melted (about 10 minutes).
4. Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, whisk together ½ cup sugar, flour, baking powder, and milk.
5. Remove the baking dish with the melted butter in it and pour the batter into the dish. NOTE:  Do not stir the batter into the butter.
6. Drop the peach slices on top.
7. Sprinkle the ½ cup sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon on top.
8. Bake in the 350-degree oven for 35 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.
9. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Make some memories and enjoy it!

Maurie Kay