Fourth of July

Cornmeal Peach Cobbler

July  9, 2013
4.4
8 Ratings
  • Serves 8
Author Notes

Ever since I first made this a few years ago, my sister has requested it roughly every time she sees me (which is pretty often, even though we live on opposite coasts). I'll only make it in the summer months, though, when ripe peaches are king. The combination of sweet, juicy peaches and light, crunchy cornmeal is a worthy one. —mollydunkncrumble

Test Kitchen Notes

Peaches, buttermilk and cornmeal come together to give this cobbler a buttery, rich peach flavor and a satisfying crunch that is sure to delight. Added bonus--the cobbler than be pulled together in under one hour with standard pantry ingredients. —rags

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Ingredients
  • Peach Mixture
  • 3 pounds peaches, peeled, pitted, and cut into 3/4-inch wedges
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 pinch ground cinnamon
  • Cornmeal Biscuit Topping
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 2/3 cup cornmeal
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 2/3 cup chilled heavy whipping cream, plus extra for brushing
  • Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Place a 9-inch pie dish on top of a parchment lined, rimmed baking sheet or jelly roll pan.
  2. Gently toss peaches and sugar together in a large bowl and let sit for 5 minutes. The peaches will release some juices and become syrupy.
  3. Drain peaches in a colander over a bowl and reserve 1/4 cup of the juice (you can throw out any remaining juice). In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the reserved peach juice, lemon juice, cornstarch, salt and cinnamon until smooth.
  4. Mix peaches and juice mixture together in a bowl, and then transfer to the prepared baking dish. Set aside.
  5. To make the biscuit topping, start by whisking together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
  6. Add the cold, cubed butter and use your fingertips to rub the butter into the dry ingredients, working quickly, until the butter pieces are well incorporated and roughly the size of lentils.
  7. Add the heavy cream and use a rubber spatula to gently stir until the dough comes together, with no dry bits on the bottom of the bowl. If the dough seems too dry, add more cream by the tablespoon until it comes together. Try not to overwork the dough.
  8. Use a large spoon or ice cream scoop to divide the dough into 8 rounds, placing them atop the peaches in a circle and leaving a bit of room between each round (the dough will expand in the oven). Brush the tops of each biscuit with some heavy cream, and generously sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
  9. Bake the cobbler for about 35 minutes, until the filling is bubbly and the biscuits are deeply golden brown. Allow to cool slightly. Serve warm, with a splash of cream or maybe a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

37 Reviews

connie September 3, 2024
I know my family loved this because there was absolute silence as everyone ate for at least 3 minutes and then the compliments started. I made it gluten-free by using gluten-free cornmeal and a one-for-one gf flour substitute. I also added vanilla in place of lemon and considerably more cinnamon. We had excellent peaches this year, but the combination of peaches and cornmeal was fantastic. I thought it would not keep well, but the small remaining portion of leftovers tasted great cold the next day! [I should note that I had to bake mine for at least 20 minutes more than the recipe prescribes but my oven seems to run under-temperature, so that may have affected the bake.]
connie September 3, 2024
I only used 1 tsp of vanilla instead of the three tsp of lemon juice.
Rich August 27, 2024
Very Tasty. Used full fat buttemik instead of cream. Why is the recipe not in grams 😡.
Donna January 20, 2021
The cornmeal biscuit top was good but way too much salt with the peaches. Is it really supposed to be one teaspoon?
Pat September 11, 2020
Love this. Used nectarines because that's what I had. I did not have cream so mixed to 2/3 cup some almond creamer, sour cream and drained peach juice. Biscuits turned out perfect. Added a little bourbon to fruit. Love the cornmeal.
Adriana G. August 22, 2020
Such a delicious summer dessert! I subbed the cinnamon for vanilla in the filling and whole milk for the buttermilk in the biscuits. I'll definitely be adding this to my arsenal.
anita June 30, 2019
How much buttermilk should be used if we swap it for the whipping cream?
MJ R. July 13, 2022
Did you get an answer? Or did you make this perhaps using b’milk.
anita July 13, 2022
No, still confused about swapping in buttermilk. Recipe ingredients call for buttermilk. Maybe Molly will chime in.
mollydunkncrumble July 13, 2022
Hi! You can swap in buttermilk for the cream - just use the same amount of buttermilk as you would cream.
rebecca P. August 12, 2017
Made this last night for a group of friends. It was quite good with fresh ripe peaches, even though I accidentally used less milk than recipe calls for. One question: is this supposed to be with buttermilk? The Food52 review mentions buttermilk.
Erica Z. August 26, 2015
Nice recipe -- tried it during peach season on a trip south. But way too much salt in the peaches. I see someone else added salt for topping. Another good add for topping might be lemon zest.
Slimfender August 22, 2015
In step 5 salt is mentioned as an ingredient in the cornmeal topper. It's not listed in that section of the ingredients. How much salt should be added here? (I am not referring to the salt called for when making the peach portion.)
mollydunkncrumble August 24, 2015
Thanks for catching this! It should be 1/2 teaspoon salt in the biscuit topping.
Amelie L. August 8, 2015
Loved this! I added a few gratings of nutmeg and a splash of bourbon. The cornmeal biscuits are what make this so good. My husband loved it and he doesn't even like peaches that much.
kaleandsalt September 8, 2013
I made this tonight and it was delicious! A little salty, but my peaches were not very sweet, and it was perfect with vanilla ice cream. I also put minced sage in the biscuits and it made the whole dessert very elegant.
Catherine R. September 3, 2013
This is very good, I've made it a few times but gluten free (with a mix of almond meal and oat flour) and almond milk instead of cream. I actually like it for breakfast!
lcar580 August 20, 2013
Hi, this is such a great idea for a cobbler! I love the cornmeal biscuits! I've made it now a few times. The second time I had buttermilk and not heavy cream in the fridge, so I substituted it and then used some baking soda. They were a bit fluffier than with the cream. I wanted to ask though, it looks like you might have a typo in your recipe; it calls for a teaspoon of salt and a pinch of cinnamon. Is that correct, or should they be switched?
mollydunkncrumble August 20, 2013
Thanks for the feedback - I'm glad you're enjoying the cobbler! And yes, the recipe is correct as written -- I like to play up the salt in dessert recipes, and I didn't want the cinnamon to overpower the fresh peach flavor here. That said, you can certainly adjust the salt/cinnamon levels to your liking!
Renee B. August 14, 2013
I wonder how this would be with blueberries. My eyes are bigger than my stomach (well, maybe not!) and I bought tons of blueberries.
mollydunkncrumble August 14, 2013
Ooh, I bet it would be great with blueberries!
Marian B. August 2, 2013
I want to make this!
TheWimpyVegetarian August 1, 2013
This looks fantastic. I want to make this as soon as I find some great peaches at the market!
anita August 1, 2013
Why on earth would you throw out any of the peach juice? By adding sugar, you pull juice out of the peaches, including flavor. If you have more than 1/4 c, just add a little more cornstarch.
mollydunkncrumble August 1, 2013
I ended up having a LOT more than 1/4 cup juice -- way more than would fit in my pan. If really you don't want to waste any juice, I'm sure using a larger pan and adding more cornstarch would be fine.
anita August 1, 2013
I guess what I'm objecting to is your instructions to throw the extra juice away, if you're not going to use it. That is liquid gold, baby! Use it in a cocktail or spritzer, but don't throw it away! You could also use a deeper pan to hold the juices.
mollydunkncrumble August 1, 2013
Yes, valid point! Nothing better than fresh peach syrup in a cocktail or even over some yogurt for breakfast...
anita August 1, 2013
Bellinis!!! A treat for the cook ;-)
AntoniaJames August 1, 2013
I'd reduce it . . . takes five minutes or less, concentrates the flavor, etc., plus it warms up the fruit a little bit when you pour it back in with the peaches. ;o)
mollydunkncrumble August 1, 2013
Yes! Love this.
AntoniaJames August 1, 2013
Really like how you shaped the biscuits on top! Excellent idea, as it keeps the biscuit from becoming a heavy blanket. Must try this one, soon. Its simplicity holds great appeal. Congrats on the CP, too. ;o)
mollydunkncrumble August 1, 2013
Thank you, AntoniaJames!
Devangi R. July 21, 2013
This looks mouth-watering.
Hilarybee July 16, 2013
This looks fantastic! I'm going to try it as soon as the local peaches come in.
mollydunkncrumble July 17, 2013
Thanks! Would love to hear how it goes.