You Know It's Summer Peach and Blueberry Cobbler

Peach season, same as beach season, or what I like to think of as real summer.  That's how you know:  peaches, curved slices with their slippery bodies, lying lazily in a measuring cup, patiently and dutifully waiting.  Ice-cream, maybe, or pie, a little lemon juice and sugar and some whipped cream for the top.  Or cobbler.  My husband says, as we walk up the hill from the bay (Cape Cod) to the house where we are staying, barefoot and our soles burning, that this is summer.  Hot, open feet on hot pavement, must be summer, but then there is cobbler and that is how I know.  He knows it is feet, skin and heel and heat, but me, me I know that summer is peaches.  

Peach-Blueberry Cobbler from Martha Stewart

I have made this cobbler recipe several times, sometimes with nectarines and peaches, or just nectarines, and it is delicious every time.  Confession:  the biscuit dough is better eaten raw.  Try a little before you add it to the fruit.  The cobbler recipe comes from Marth Stewart Living, August 2005, and it's on the internet.  The only change I have made is that I use bottled vanilla extract rather than vanilla bean.  I've never tried this cobbler with vanilla bean,  but I like to balance the expense of a vanilla bean with a dessert that will really showcase it, like creme brulee or some other such item.  In the fruit, vanilla extract tastes fine, but if you have the cash, go ahead and try the bean.  Just make sure to let me know how it comes out.

INGREDIENTS

Serves 8 to 10 

• 2 3/4 pounds peaches, halved lengthwise, pitted, and cut into 3/4-inch-thick wedges (about 8 cups)  
• 1 cup blueberries, (about 1/2 pint)
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons packed light-brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon finely grated, peeled fresh ginger
• 1 pinch of salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, (1 stick), cut into small pieces
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream, plus more for brushing
• Sanding sugar, for sprinkling (optional)
• Vanilla bean ice-cream or whipped cream, for serving (optional) (beat cream until soft peaks form, add a little powdered sugar and vanilla and stir to combine--cold cream, bowl and beaters will produce the best whipped cream and will whip the fastest)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Stir together peaches, blueberries, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, cornstarch, brown sugar, lemon juice, ginger, and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Transfer to a 12-by-8 1/2-inch (2-quart) baking dish; set aside.
2. Mix flour, baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/3 cup granulated sugar in a medium bowl. Cut butter into flour mixture using a pastry blender or a fork and knife to form pea-sized lumps.
3. Add vanilla to cream and stir to combine.  Add cream mixture to flour mixture; stir until a soft, sticky dough forms. Divide dough into 10 equal pieces; arrange over filling so that the pieces are touching. Brush dough with cream, and sprinkle with sanding sugar if you wish.
4. Place a parchment or foil-lined baking sheet on bottom rack of oven to catch juices. Bake cobbler on top rack directly over the baking sheet until topping is golden brown and juices are bubbling, 55 to 65 minutes. If topping is browning too quickly, cover loosely with foil (towards the end of baking). Let cool on a wire rack 1 hour before serving.
5. Serve cobbler in bowls with vanilla ice-cream or whipped cream.