The Short Cut Cobbler

There was this bag of peaches, you see.

We bought a bag of fresh ones, but I'm pretty sure they were not exactly local produce. They were a little bruised, and their fuzzy skins were beginning to show some of the same signs of time passing that the human skin does -sagging and getting a little wrinkly. 

With that sort of thing, one really can't make a fresh compote, can one? Even if one has a cup of golden raspberries and a half cup of big red raspberries to add to it, the peaches needed to be cooked, to get the juices from them. It just wasn't going to do.

And then, there was this can of what the Bat and I like to think of as emergency supplies: buttermilk biscuits from ALDI. Pop really likes them, so, when the weather cools off, and we fix stew, we generally toss a batch of those in the oven for him. Sadly, we haven't had a cool enough day this past couple of months, so the container in the fridge was fast approaching its expiration date, and, well, things started coming together in my mind.

After that, it wasn't too long before it started coming together in the kitchen.

Thus was a short cut cobbler born.  Fair notice: it's not an overly sweet version. If you want more sweetness, you can adjust the amount of sugar, honey, etc., to your own tastes - you might put more honey on the biscuit tops, or even dunk them in honey before placing them on top. On the other hand, if you serve this with a good ice cream, any extra sweetness will probably knock you into a sugar coma.

Try it this way first.

Short Cut Cobbler 

Ingredients:

(all these are approximations, according to taste)

about 8 medium fresh peaches
3/4 cup to 1 full cup fresh golden raspberries (or if you have frozen, thaw them)
1/2 cup red raspberries, fresh or thawed
1/4 cup corn starch (or your preferred thickener)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons wild honey (divided)
2 Tablespoons warm water
4 Tablespoons brown sugar (divided)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
pinch nutmeg
1 refrigerated pop-open can of 8 ALDI buttermilk biscuits (okay, you can use another brand, if you must)

Directions:

Blanch peaches by first filling a large pot with enough water to cover the peaches (but leave the peaches out, for now). Prepare a large bowl or sink to hold more than enough cold water to cover the peaches.  Bring pot of water to full boil. Carefully place the peaches in the hot water, allow to simmer about 2 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon or tongs, drop hot peaches into cold water and let swiftly cool down (you can add ice, if you're in a hurry).

When the peaches are cooled, use a paring knife to help remove the skins from the peaches, then slice the peaches, a small section at a time, off the stone and into a medium or large mixing bowl. You should have between 3 and 4 cups of fresh peaches to work with, now.

Add starch, granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon honey, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, and the spices. Stir until everything is mixed well and the peaches are thoroughly covered.

Gently toss in the raspberries. Allow to stand at least 10 minutes, to draw up the juices as the sugar and fruits combine.

Preheat oven to 375º F.

Meanwhile, butter an 8x13x2-inch baking dish (or a 9-inch deep pie dish).

Gently stir the fruit mix and pour into the baking dish.

Open the canister of biscuits (carefully! don't put your eye out with that thing!) and arrange the biscuits over the top of the fruit.

Mix the remaining tablespoon of honey with the warm water, and brush it over the tops of the biscuits with a pastry brush.

Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of brown sugar generously over the tops of the biscuits.

Bake at 375º F for 20 -25 minutes, or until the top is rich brown and crispy.

Serve hot in bowls, topped with your favorite ice cream.