Peach Cobbler Sensation-Revealing a new trend in healthy desserts
U-Pick fruit stands are plentiful in the town of Brentwood which is about a 45 minute drive from my home. Almost every June for the past 20 years, I plan a berry, peach or apricot picking adventure with friends. Never in all the years I have been planning and participating in this event have I experienced what happened this year. Some girlfriends and i decided it was a perfect week for picking Olallieberries (similar to Blackberries but it is actually a cross between a loganberry and a youngberry and is cultivated in California and Oregon). The anticipated day arrived and it was sprinkling in my home town, but the forecast for Brentwood was morning sprinkles until about 9 am. We had all been praying for rain so we were glad to have a light shower in the wee hours of the morning but as we drove the 45 minutes towards Brentwood we realized the sprinkling was not letting up as forecasted. But on we went….nothing would deter us from our berry picking. We arrived at our destination only to find that the berry picking ranch was closed. We surmised that they were just waiting for the light shower to let up and then they would open up and we would pick for an hour or two and return home with our beautiful stash of berries. So we drove around looking for other U-Pick places that might be open already. We did find one place that seemed to be opening up but when we approached the farm entrance the owners told us it was too muddy and they were going to close for the day. We were so disappointed but on we drove. We finally decided to stop at the Farmer’s Daughter farm and although we knew they did not have a U-Pick berry farm we figured they might be able to give us some information. The owner invited us in and shared with us that the berry places would probably not open until the next day after the sun came out and dried up all the rain. She did invite us to pick peaches, apricots and nectarines.So rather than go home empty handed we decided to pick the fruit she had to offer. It continued to rain and we were a muddy mess at the end of our picking endeavor but we had a TON OF FUN! We came home with 30-40 pounds of apricots, 20-30 pounds of peaches and lots of nectarines. We also bought many types of vegetables from her stand as well. So what was revealed to us all that day was…keep an attitude of making the best out of a disappointing situation and you will be surprised at all the FUN that will be REVEALED. All in all it was a day to remember and we have all been baking, freezing and jamming for the past few days.
Ingredients
8 cups of fresh peaches peeled and sliced (8-10 sweet large peaches)
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon fresh grated lemon rind
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
¼ cup Pure Via stevia/turbinado sugar combination or brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
For topping
1 cup oats
½ cup oat flour or oat bran
1 Tablespoon flax meal
1 Tablespoon raw wheat germ
½ cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ cup cold butter
2 Tablespoons coconut oil
- 8 cups of fresh peaches peeled and sliced (8-10 sweet large peaches)
- 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon fresh grated lemon rind
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- ¼ cup Pure Via stevia/turbinado sugar combination or brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- For topping
- 1 cup oats
- ½ cup oat flour or oat bran
- 1 Tablespoon flax meal
- 1 Tablespoon raw wheat germ
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ cup cold butter
- 2 Tablespoons coconut oil
- Peel and slice peaches and stir in the cornstarch, lemon juice, lemon rind, cinnamon and sugar. Pour into a 10 inch deep dish pie pan or any 10 inch diameter decorative oven proof dessert serving piece.
- In a separate bowl mix together all dry topping ingredients.
- Add the coconut oil and the cold butter and mix with a pastry cutter or two knives until topping is crumbly.
- Pour topping onto fruit mixture and spread evenly over all the fruit.
- Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes until topping is slightly brown and fruit is bubbling. This is a delicious summer dessert served with vanilla ice cream.
Peel and slice peaches and stir in the cornstarch, lemon juice, lemon rind, cinnamon and sugar. Pour into a 10 inch deep dish pie pan or any 10 inch diameter decorative oven proof dessert serving piece. In a separate bowl mix together all dry topping ingredients. Add the coconut oil and the cold butter and mix with a pastry cutter or two knives until topping is crumbly. Pour topping onto fruit mixture and spread evenly over all the fruit. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes until topping is slightly brown and fruit is bubbling. This is a delicious summer dessert served with vanilla ice cream.
(I doubled this recipe for a deep dish 9 by 13 pan and increased the cooking time to 50 minutes.)
Fun variations:
1. Use 8 cups of a combination of stone fruits (unpeeled nectarines, apricots and peaches)
2. Add 1 cup full of fresh blueberries to the peach mixture
3. Top peach cobbler with peach ice cream-(homemade is best-look for recipe coming up soon)
Try this for your next summer BBQ dessert and you will be sure to WOW your crowd!
When have you been able to turn a disappointment into a fun adventure. What was revealed to you in the process?
