A Cozy, Slightly Boozy Peach Cobbler

With sweet buttermilk biscuit topping

A quick note: Paid subscriptions are paused through August, but I couldn’t resist sharing this recipe before summer passes us by. Thanks again for supporting us, and we’ll be back with weekly meal plans + some fun new things in September!

If there’s one thing to know about me, it’s that I’m going to panic that summer is passing by too quickly and I haven’t eaten enough peaches.

Here in Ohio, we get about a month of peak peach season that feels like 72 hours. Every year it’s a sweaty, humid race to enjoy as many peaches as possible before apples start butting in. (TAKE A SEAT, APPLES AND PUMPKIN. IT’S NOT YOUR TURN).

We’re smack in the middle of prime peach season right now, and you can catch me slicing peaches into my morning yogurt, sauteeing them in butter for an afternoon treat, grilling them for a peachy dinner salad, and making Peach Crumb Pie, Peach Cheesecake Bars, Peach Bundt Cake, and Peach Delight like the future of civilization depends on it.

I’ve been blogging for 14 years and have never shared a classic peach cobbler recipe. I was raised on cobblers with a crisp, cakey topping, and while I still find this Blackberry Peach Cobbler absolutely divine, it’s more of a blackberry cobbler that happens to also have peaches, not a true peach cobbler.

But this, my friends, is a PEACH COBBLER. Peaches are the star here—juicy and sweet (but not too sweet) and accented with maple syrup, cinnamon, and a glug of bourbon. The topping is a classic buttermilk biscuit, puffed into buttery crumbles and topped with turbinado sugar for a honeyed crunch.

Of course, we’re eating it warm and topping it with big ol’ scoops of vanilla ice cream and enjoying it on the back porch while our eyeballs roll back into our heads from the sheer pleasure of it.

This is the stuff summer is made of—slow and sweet, something to be enjoyed all the more for the knowledge it won’t last.

A few notes and substitutions:

• If you can find freestone peaches, they’ll make your life a lot easier, but any variety of peach (or even nectarines) could be used here.

• Cobbler purists might cancel me for saying this, but I really find no reason to peel the peaches. I need peach cobbler ASAP, and peeling is just a distraction from that worthy goal. I also find that cooking the peaches a tad longer than the biscuit topping makes the peels nearly invisible. That said, if you can’t stand a peel, use this simple method to peel them before proceeding with the recipe.

• You can substitute the maple syrup with an extra two tablespoons of brown sugar.

• Feel free to omit the bourbon if you prefer. You could get a similar rich flavor by using vanilla bean paste OR for a brighter, summery flavor, substitute a squeeze of lemon juice.

• I don’t like a lot of fall spices in my cobbler, but if you’re enjoying this in late August or September you might add a pinch of nutmeg or cardamom, and up the cinnamon.

• The turbinado topping is 100% optional, but I do love the way it adds some sparkle and shine to a sweet treat. You can see I use it to finish Orange Poppy Seed Muffins and Blueberry Rhubarb Pie as well.

Bourbon Peach Cobbler

Serves: 10

Prep time: 20 minutes

Baking time: 45 minutes

For the filling:

• 3.5–4 lbs fresh peaches, cut it into bite size chunks

• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar

• 2 Tablespoons maple syrup

• 1 Tablespoon cornstarch

• 1 Tablespoon bourbon

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon

• ½ teaspoon ground ginger

• Pinch kosher salt

Biscuit Topping:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup (8 Tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cubed

• 1/2-2/3 cup buttermilk

• 1 large egg

• 1 Tablespoon milk or buttermilk

• 2 Tablespoons (25g) turbinado sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.

2. Spread the peaches over the pan then sprinkle with brown sugar, maple syrup, bourbon vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, and salt. Stir to combine, then redistribute evenly over the pan. Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.

3. While the peaches bake, make the biscuit topping. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the butter cubes and use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour mixture, until it’s in small crumbs. Alternatively, place it all in a food processor and pulse a few times.

4. Drizzle in 1/2 cup of the buttermilk and stir well. You want the mixture to be moistened and stick to itself. If the mixture still looks dry, drizzle in a bit more buttermilk until it can be patted together.

5. Use your hands to scoop up 1/4-1/2 cup size portions of the dough and press it into craggly rounds, spreading them evenly over the peaches. Whisk together the egg and remaining tablespoon of buttermilk, then brush it over the top. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar.

6. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the top of the biscuits are golden brown and filling is bubbly.