Southern Peach Cobbler

Peach cobbler is one of those old-fashioned Southern desserts that makes you think of front porches, sweet tea with mint and hot summer nights. There are plenty of frozen varieties available at your grocery store, but they don't come close to the homemade kind. Give this yummy dessert a try, and you'll agree. But don't expect the fruit to make it count as a healthy dessert; it's loaded with fat grams!

To create the real thing, you'll want to make your own pastry. It's not as hard as you think! Just combine 2 cups of all-purpose flour and 1 tsp. of salt. Next, cut in about 2/3 cup of shortening with a pastry blender until the mixture is crumbly. You may need to add a couple more tbsp. of flour. Sprinkle 4 to five tbsp. of very cold water over the pastry until it is completely moistened. Roll the mixture into a ball, and chill it in the frig until you are ready to use.

Get ready to make your cobbler. First, look for the perfect peaches. You're more likely to find them at a roadside stand or farmer's market than at your supermarket. You want slightly soft peaches that are dark yellow or gold. Avoid the firm ones that have any green in their color. These peaches are not ripe yet. And don't hesitate to sniff the fruit. If the peach smells "peachy," you've probably got a good one. Under ripe peaches have little or no scent.

You'll need to make a peach syrup as the base of your cobbler. Peel about 8 cups, and combine the fruit with 2 cups of sugar, ¼ cup of flour and a dash of nutmeg and cinnamon. Bring this mixture to a boil over medium heat. Then reduce the heat to low, and cook about 10 minutes or until the peaches are tender. Remove from the heat. Add one tsp. of vanilla extract and 1/3 cup butter or margarine. Stir until the butter melts, and set aside.

Take about half of your pastry and roll it out with a rolling pin on a floured cutting board. Cut into a 9-inch square. Place half of your peach mixture into a greased 9-inch square baking pan. Top with the pastry square, and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar.

Bake this at 475 degrees for about 12 minutes. You want it to be just lightly golden brown. This pre-baking will keep your pastry from tasting doughy., a common complaint about peach cobbler. Remove from the oven and spoon the rest of the peach mixture over the dough. Roll out the rest of the pastry; cut it into strips, and arrange it into a lattice pattern (or any other pattern you want!) over the peaches. Sprinkle with a little more cinnamon-sugar. Bake about 15 to 17 minutes longer at 475 degrees.

And there you have it: your own version of Southern peach cobbler. Now get a bucket of chicken, some potato salad, deviled eggs and sweet tea. Serve the peach cobbler warm with ice cream or whipped cream.

You can substitute just about any fruit for the peaches. Blackberry cobbler is a great favorite among Southerners who have their own blackberry bushes. It's a just reward for braving those prickly fruit bushes.