Super Simple Peach Cobbler

I usually make a dessert on Sunday nights.  My kids don't let me forget...ever!  I wasn't planning on making a dessert this Sunday, however, as we had so many treats over the holiday weekend.  But, as I was making my shopping list for the week and perusing some of my favorite food blogs for inspiration, I stumbled across this recipe over at The Girl Who Ate Everything.  I had all of the ingredients on hand, including 4 ripe peaches that were close to being thrown out (we are so bad about eating peaches quickly enough).  So, of course I had to make it.

I'm not a huge fan of cobblers, meaning if I were ordering dessert while eating out, a cobbler would probably be my last choice.  It's something about the fruit.  I can't decide if eating dessert with fruit in it makes it healthier, or ruins the naughtiness of splurging on dessert.   How good for you can fruit really be when it is covered in sugar and butter??   So I usually go for something oozing in chocolate.  That doesn't mean that I don't like a good cobbler, though, and one always needs to be prepared with a good recipe.  The best part about this recipe is that not only was the cobbler really good, but it was also really easy.  You can't beat that.

As I said before, I used ripe peaches to make this dessert, but the original recipe actually calls for a 28 ounce can of peaches in syrup, syrup included.  That means this dessert can be made in the dead of winter when good, fresh peaches are unheard of!   It is also a great dessert in the summer when juicy peaches are at their best. 

Super Simple Peach Cobbler
adapted slightly from The Girl Who Ate Everything, originally posted by Just a Pinch

1 cup self-rising flour (see notes from original recipes for substitution)
3/4 cup sugar (I used a combination of white sugar and brown sugar)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, divided and melted
4 medium peaches, skinned and sliced
1/2 cup sugar (for creating peach syrup/juice)

Sprinkle 1/2 cup sugar over the sliced peaches and refrigerate for 2-3 hours (to create syrup). Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, loosely combine the flour, 1/4 cup melted butter,  and all but two tablespoons of the sugar.  Pour about 1/3 of the flour mixture on the bottom of an 8x8 pan.

Then add the peaches and their juice over the flour mixture.  Pour the rest of the flour mixture over the peaches.

Sprinkle the top with the remaining two tablespoons of sugar.  Drizzle with the remaining 1/4 cup melted butter.  Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the top is golden brown.  Let the cobbler sit for 5 minutes before serving.  Best served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.   

I used a combination of white sugar and brown sugar simply because I ran out of white sugar.  I haven't tried this cobbler with all white sugar, but the combination of sugars was goo-oood!  It was quite sweet.  I may even make it again with a bit less sugar next time.  The original recipe called for an additional two tablespoons of sugar to sprinkle (instead of just reserving two tablespoons, like I did).  It was still plenty sweet.  My cobbler wasn't as juicy as I think it should have been.  However, I know this is due to the fact that I didn't allow enough time (the required 2-3 hours) for the peaches to make a good amount of juice.  Still, it was a very enjoyable dessert that I would make again!