First, I have to come clean. I am responsible for some Twitter harassment that’s been going on for years. It’s true. Every August, during peach season, I mercilessly taunt Jody Perkins with my photos of this amazing crispy peach cobbler. I’d like to tell you I feel bad about it, but truth be told, I revel in it. She was sweet enough to remind me this week (as if I’d forget—HA!), which prompted me to share this recipe with you today.
Thanks, Jody! *waves spoonful of peach cobbler*
Originally, I wasn’t going to title this recipe Lazy, but I’ve got to be honest here—it totally is. This is the easiest, quickest, most-delicious-est crispy peach cobbler I’ve ever had, and have been thanking my lucky stars ever since I stumbled across it on one of my favorite baking blogs, Smitten Kitchen.
What makes it lazy? You don’t peel the peaches.
Let me say that again: You don’t have to peel the peaches! (That’s basically my yardstick for calling a recipe Lazy. Take my Lazy Salsa recipe: there is no peeling nor even chopping of tomatoes. You simply core them and run them through the food processor. I spent last weekend making it, canning a year’s worth of salsa—50+ quarts—in only two days. Hence the Lazy attribution.)
But this peach cobbler takes practically no time at all to throw together, and despite a couple of slightly strange quirks (you sprinkle quite a bit of sugar on top of the topping, then pour hot water over it—I KNOW, but trust me) it packs a deliciously peachy punch in the end. The first year I made it I couldn’t stop eating it. (Okay, that’s true for every year, actually.)
I’ve always used fresh peaches and/or nectarines, so I can’t tell you if it works with frozen fruit, but I’m planning to try it with frozen in the coming months because I have a whole pile of ripe fruit that I must do something with in the next two days and the freezer seems the best option. Already I’m dreaming of my spoon breaking through the crust of this scrumptious peach cobbler in December, January, or February. A sweet, warm, juicy bowl of summer in the midst of winter? Yes, please! I’ll definitely let you know how it goes.
One thing I do find about this recipe, is that it takes longer to bake than the original recipe indicates. At least for me it does. And it’s *really* important to cook this thoroughly because otherwise it’s extra gooey underneath that crispy crust, and not in a great way. Don’t get me wrong—it still tastes good if it’s a little under-cooked, but not as delicious as it could be. As it should be. As you deserve it to be.
The most difficult thing about this recipe is waiting to eat it. Seriously. If you let it sit for at least 30 minutes after it comes out of the oven, the sweet, summery peach juices will thicken. And while it’s torturous (because it smells mouthwateringly AMAZING and you’ll be jonesing to dig in even while it’s still in the oven), it’s SO worth the wait.
Kinda like waiting for the cobbler taunting to begin each year. As it rightfully has. >:-)
Ingredients
- 10 large peaches/nectarines, cut into 8 wedges (about 4 1/2 pounds)
- 5 Tablespoons lemon juice
Topping
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup + 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups all purpuse flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher or coarse salt (use half as much if table salt)
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (for sprinkling on top of topping)
- 1/2 cup hot water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F/177 C.
- Slice peaches/nectarines and place in a 13 x 9 baking pan. Distribute them as evenly as possible. Sprinkle with lemon juice.
- In your mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together until sandy. Add flour, baking powder, and salt and mix well. With your mixer on low, slowly stream in milk. Turn the mixer up to medium, and beat for about two minutes, until light and fluffy.
- Drop large spoonfuls of batter on top of the peaches, then spread it out in a relatively even layer (as much as possible) keeping the batter thickness to no more than 1/2". Sprinkle 1/2 cup of sugar evenly over the top, then drizzle hot water over the sugar.
- Bake for 70-80 minutes, until the crust is a crispy, golden brown, and a toothpick inserted in the cracks comes out clean (check several different cracks, not just the middle, to ensure it's fully cooked). Let it sit for about 30 minutes before serving to let the juices thicken.
This looks so good! I can eat peach cobbler everyday! Thank you!
Thank you so much! It’s absolutely DELICIOUS. Hope you love it if you give it a try!
Did you try with frozen peaches?
I haven’t yet! But when I do, my plan would be to thaw the peaches, toss them with maybe 2 Tablespoons of flour (to help thicken up the extra water that will be released by the frozen fruit), and then bake as normal. If you give it a try, please do let us know how it turns out!
I used frozen peaches. Drained them first, then did it as normal. They were fresh frozen. Not sure if that makes a difference.
I have no idea if it would, Cindy. The biggest issue would be the water released from the peaches making the cobbler too juicy. I might thaw the peaches, strain the juice and cook it down a bit to release some of the water but keep the flavor in the juice. Thanks so much for commenting!