Peach & Apple Cobbler

Happy (early) July 4th Independence Day weekend. I hope you are planning some fun things like picnics, swimming, camping, nice good ol' bbq and of course fireworks. We have some fun things planned too, but until we get there I just need to get through today. I have the perfect summer dessert for you to try. 

Think....tender but not mushy sweet ripe summer fruit topped with a perfectly seasoned crust with sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, and earthy rolled oats.

Today has been very l-o-n-g. I think I managed 4 hours of sleep total last night. Today, the moment my son's doctors office opened I was on the phone getting him an early appointment. He was in so much pain all night, and it just seemed to get worse. By morning he had a low grade fever and just wouldn't or couldn't get comfortable. I felt so bad for my little blued eye one. 

I am not much of a "sweets" person, but sugar in moderation can be a very soothing, stress reducing, and helpful thing. I don't encourage eating because you are stressed but if you have a newborn or a very sick child I think keeping yourself in the game via coffee or sugar is a valid option. So by dinner time I was craving some delicious warm fresh out of the oven fruit cobbler probably because all the things I mentioned previously - exhaustion, stress, not eating enough regular food, or doing it so fast while standing up rocking a baby that my body was in shock, ect.... A couple reassuring words and a nice hug from my hubby and a few scoops of this delicious cobbler with vanilla ice cream did a world of good for the nitty gritty hard motherhood moments I was dealing with in the trenches. It was a satisfying treat. 

So we've got infant Tylenol for the fever and teething, antibiotics for the ear infection, and a decent cobbler recipe for the sanity of the exhausted parents. There's a lot more to the story, but I am too tired to type anymore so here's a nice little fruit cobbler recipe adapted from allrecipes.com - I simplified a few steps and gave it some much needed texture. 

Enjoy something sweet from my Az Kitchen. 

Stephanie

P.S. This would be a great EASY dessert to have ready to celebrate over the long weekend!
P.P.S.S. Eating the leftovers cold straight from the fridge with a glass milk after a 2am feeding of the baby isn't too shabby either. It totally reminded me of an old fashioned slice of apple pie without all the work involved! If I just happened to be up at 2am......

Peach & Apple Cobbler

Ingredients

for the filling:
5 Peaches, skin on, cut around the pit into chunks
3 Apples, skin on, cored, cut into chunks
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp cornstarch

for the crust:
1/2 cup of all purpose flour
1/2 cup of rolled oats
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1/4 cup of white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup of hot water
6 tsp of cold butter

topping:
1 tsp cinnamon
1 & 1/2 tsp turbinado sugar (or regular white sugar)


Directions: 
1. In a buttered baking dish (I used a small rectangle) combine all the filling ingredients. Use your hands to mix it throughly to save on washing a spoon but also to make sure each piece of fruit is coated. Bake it at 425 for 10 minutes. 

2. While the fruit is baking combine all ingredients in a small bowl except the water and butter. Use a fork or pastry tool to work the butter into the flour - doesn't have to be all incorporated like you are making biscuits but mostly. Add the water in just until its moist. (the water will make it very sticky and clumpy which is why the butter doesn't have to be perfectly worked in)

3. Pull the fruit out of the oven when finished and drop small amounts of the crust on top all over the top of the fruit. 

4. Sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar topping over the fruit next and put it back in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes. Top should be crunchy and golden just like the picture below.