ELSIE SMITH'S PEACH COBBLER

It may be harder for me to write a post than usual now that we have adopted two male kittens. They were content playing on the floor until I started typing this. Then they both jump up on the couch and start typing themselves. Parker is content laying down beside me and Charlie is still restless. They slept most of the afternoon so I don't expect them to go to sleep again.

I had to stop to check on the peaches on our peach tree and discovered the deer feasted on the low ones last night. When I came back up, the kittens were still running around. Surprisingly they settled down but I couldn't get my laptop back and running so frustrated I gave up and Wayne and I watched Hinterland on TV. The kittens went back to sleep and slept through the whole show, but as soon as the show ended, they woke up. Parker wanted to help me out but I told him NO and so he and Charlie are playing. 

I won't spend too much time blabbing and just get to the recipe I want to share with you so I won't have to stay up too late. I had some delicious ripe peaches I had bought and wanted to use and since we love peach cobbler so much, I picked this recipe from a collection cookbook from Naperville, IL. I bought the cookbook because Friend Janice said the roommate for one of her granddaughters was from there. Anyway, the recipe made a really delicious peach cobbler. After making it, the only change I would make the next time would be adding more peach slices are making it in an 8 - inch square dish and not pouring on all of the batter because we like more peaches in our cobbler. Otherwise, it's fantastic even using the sugar substitute erythritol.

ELSIE SMITH'S PEACH COBBLER

Filling:

1     tablespoon cornstarch

1/4  cup brown sugar

1/2  cup cold water

3     cups fresh sliced peaches (I did peel mine.)

1     tablespoon butter

1     tablespoon lemon juice, optional (I did add)

In a saucepan, mix the cornstarch, brown sugar, and cold water.

Add peaches.

Cook and stir until mixture thickens.

Add butter and lemon juice.

Pour mixture into a baking dish 8 - inch square up to 7 x 12. (Read paragraph above recipe.) Set aside.

Crust:

1     cup flour

1     teaspoon baking powder

1/2  teaspoon salt

1/2  cup sugar, divided (I used 2/3 cup erythritol, divided)

2     tablespoons shortening, melted

~1   cup milk, enough to make a batter to pour

Sift the flour, salt, and baking powder together into a bowl.

Add 1/4 cup sugar (or 1/3 cup erythritol). Add shortening and blend until flour is coarse and crumbly.

Add milk until mixture is thoroughly moist and almost runny. I added almost a cup of milk to get the batter the consistency I wanted.

Pour over hot cobbler fruit. (If you are using a small baking dish, I would not use all of the batter.)

Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup sugar (or 1/3 cup erythritol) over the top.

Bake in preheated oven about 1 hour until brown on top.

Recipe note: As a child I watched my mother and grandmother make this. There was no written recipe and I had to watch her and stop her with each new addition so I could reproduce it with the same taste. Even today, when I make it, I can picture both of them in the kitchen adding a dab or a pinch of this and that.

Here are some pictures of Charlie and Parker. I had to call my husband to come in and play with them so I could finish writing this. It's like they know we are going to be leaving to go to bed so they get real active.

Parker

Charlie