Aunt Audry's Peach Cobbler

Ingredients

  • 8 Tbs unsalted butter
  • 1 C flour
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1 C sugar
  • 1 C milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 5-6 ripe peaches, chopped (about 3 C)

Directions

  1. Get out a ten-inch cast iron skillet. Put the butter directly into it.
  2. Turn the oven on to 350° F. As soon as you've turned on the oven, put the skillet with the butter in it.
  3. In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, and salt until well incorporated. Whisk in the milk a little at a time, then add the vanilla. You want the mixture to be smooth.
  4. Once the oven reaches 350° F, pull out the skillet and tilt it so the now-browned butter hits every crevice, then pour in the batter. Use a knife or spatula to make it somewhat even. Drop the fruit in evenly and return it to the oven.
  5. Bake for about 30-45 minutes, it should be bubbly and golden-brown. Let it rest for fifteen minutes before serving, though it's good piping hot, room temperature, or fridge-cold. Top with ice cream or whipped cream if you like. 

Notes

  • The base of this is a 1:1:1 ratio of ingredients. You can trade out the flour for a whole wheat flour or a gluten-free option (brown rice flour, for example, makes it crispier, and if gluten isn't the issue, is cool to mix in for crispness reasons).
  • Milk is wide open! If you're using dairy, we always opt for whole, but again: it's fine to use soy, 2%, whatever.
  • All sugars are equally valid (in the eyes of Aunt Audrey) though we would caution against doing brown sugar or a liquid sugar like molasses for all of it, just because it gets sticky. It's fine to swap a little bit, though, no question. We are butter partisans, but you can try out whatever vegan option you like, or do a mix if you're short (we did coconut oil and a half stick of butter in a pinch recently and DAMN).
  • Flavoring and filling is also a free-for-all. Any fruit will work, and we love to use this as an opportunity to clean out the crisper. A mix of stone fruit and berries is wonderful, if you need more guidance than "just do it." Trade the vanilla for a dash of rum, rye, or bourbon. Try almond extract instead. Grate some fresh nutmeg or ginger on top. Toss a dash of cinnamon in with the salt. The sky doesn't even begin to describe the limit. You really and truly cannot mess this up.