Continuing on with last week’s theme of baking on the grill (would it be considered grilling or baking?), this week I decided to make a peach cobber. This dessert had been on my mind all summer, as I don’t like to let the season go by without baking at least something with fresh peaches. However, the baby being born in early June delayed things a little.
I was finally able to procure eight peaches shipped in from Virginia from Pickering Hill Farms last week. Of course, by the time I went to use them only eight of them were still good. I also did not find them to be quite as flavorful as the Georgia peaches from Heinen’s that my husband and I were snacking on in July. Sadly, those peaches were no longer available, but it’s something I’ll have to keep my eye on for next year.
To see how this grilling adventure began, circle back to last week’s post first where I made tart cherry pie in a cast iron on the grill!
Peach Cobbler on the Grill: A Summary
- Type of pan: Cast Iron. I did not end up having enough peaches to fill my 10.25 inch cast iron skillet, so I used my 8 inch one instead. To be honest, this was a much more appropriate size for two people, although I could have used 2-3 more peaches.
- Grill settings: Should be around 375 degrees F. My grill ran hot much of the time – closer to 400 degrees F sometimes. This is because I’m still pretty new to using it and haven’t quite figured out how to get the temperature quite right yet.
- Bake time: 30 minutes on the grill was enough to cook the biscuit topping fully through and thicken the fresh peaches at the bottom.
- Type of filling: Although I had 8 peaches, only five of them ended up being good to use. It was hard for me to find a peach cobbler recipe that I liked for this step, so I sort of ad hoc’d it for my first try. Here is what I did:
- Ingredients: 5 sliced peaches with skins left on (would have preferred 7-8), juice from half of a lemon, 1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest, 1/3 cup of light brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon of ginger, pinch of salt, 1 tablespoon of butter. I did not use any sort of thickener like corn starch or flour.
- I cooked all the above in a large pot over medium heat on the stove for about 5-6 minutes to thicken the mixture before baking the cobbler in the cast iron on the grill. I did not allow the filling to cool before adding the biscuit topping and did not ultimately find that that step would have been necessary.
- Type of topping: Some people like to use more of a batter to top their cobblers. While that method is yummy, I have found it to be way too rich for my taste. Therefore, I chose to top my cobbler with crumbly drop biscuits. I used Erin Jeanne McDowell’s recipe, basically dolloping little pieces all over the peaches before brushing with egg wash and sprinkling with turbinado sugar. Then I popped that beauty on the grill for thirty minutes et voila – deliciousness!