Jersey Peach Skillet Cobbler

What I love best about summer are the farmers' markets in NJ.
We are called the Garden State for a reason.

July-September is prime produce season here, and if you have ever tasted a Jersey peach, you will know what I am talking about (no offense to the Georgia Peach fans).

I love the white peaches best, but for baking, I buy the yellow variety. They are all grown on trees within 25 miles from my home (Oldwick, NJ).

On another note, do you know the difference between a cobbler and a crisp?

A fruit crisp has a sugary crust on top of the fruit and is always made w/ oats.....a cobbler has clumps of biscuit like dough piled on top of the fruit, resembling a cobblestone street! hence the name, cobbler.

It's nice that you can learn such important things when you come over to this blog, isn't it? ;)

You may use any fruit you like here; peaches, plums, nectarines, berries. The world is your fruit oyster right now.

I got the idea of using garam masala spice in the cobbler from Bon Appetit's skillet cobbler.
Don't be afraid, garam masala has cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, black pepper and other lovely flavors to its profile.
It works very nicely w/ the peaches.

I also thought the cobbler was nicely presented in my cast iron skillet, but go ahead and make it in a traditional baking dish if you like.

Jersey Skillet Peach Cobbler:

Topping:
1 cup flour
2/3 c brown sugar
10 tbsp butter, chilled and cut into pieces

Fruit Filling:
7 ripe yellow peaches, cut into 1" pieces (I also added in blueberries, why not)
3/4 cup of pecans or almonds, toasted
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white granulated sugar
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp garam masala or cinnamon

Mix the topping with your hands, incorporating the butter, sugar and flour, working the mixture to form a dough.

In a large bowl, mix the fruit w/ the rest of the ingredients.

Butter or use coconut oil and grease a 9" cast iron deep dish skillet.

Pour the fruit into the skillet.
Using your hands plop clumps on top of the topping over the fruit and bake for 35-40 minutes in a 350F oven.

I served this with honey yogurt, but any ice cream or whipped cream would be delish.

Enjoy!