Dreamy Peach Pecan Praline Cobbler

We owe this one to my dear wife Monique, for she is the inspiration found in this recipe, she is always searching for new ingredients to cook and especially bake, desserts are her favorite.

While flipping through several cookbooks in our collection, she ran across another for the 9×13 pan, and this happens to be about the sixth successful find in as many weeks.

On Saturday, our dear friend Janet dropped by with a basket full of fresh ripe peaches that her dear husband Chris had picked up for us on his travels back from business in Atlanta.

This was our second such basket of bountiful peaches bestowed upon us, and we had devoured the first basket before any hesitation of cooking their tender, juicy, flavorful fruit. This time around, we were not going to let them all go to just snacking, Monique had a mission.

The basket purchased from roadside fruit stands near the Georgia and North Carolina borders, contains several varieties of locally grown peaches, including a white fleshed, orange fleshed, and several cling types.

A cursory search for Georgia peaches turns out that there are 40 varieties available and grown in the state. It appears that our basket has three or four peach varieties included.

Dreams?peaches?.pecans?pralines?cobbler?

These all seem like such great ingredients on their own, so why not put them together into one dish.

Dreams

If you can dream it you can believe it, all things start from a dream! I believe it is time to create a dreamy dessert!

The Peaches

After slicing eight of the peaches for this recipe, it appeared that three varieties are in this particular basket; the noted tell tale flesh of each one with its varied color and texture.

Each peach is cut from the top of the stem end and then around the circumference using the chef knife, then separated into two hemispheres exposing the firm yet juicy, tender flesh, and pit. With the pit removed, and using the chef knife again, all the peaches sliced into nice equal wedges, ten slices per peach in fact.

We decided to keep the skin on because peeling them seemed like torture, and such a waste of good nutrition, not to mention the loss of the juicy, delicate, tender flesh.

The Pecans and Praline flavor

The pecan meats chopped with the chef knife, and then added to the melted butter, combined with brown sugar, thus transformed into the praline filling.

Cobbler

Filling, a fruit concoction made with fresh, canned, or frozen fruit, mixed with water or fruit juice, thickened with cornstarch, and spices added, typically cooked until thick and bubbly. This is the fruit filling.

Dough, typically a sweet biscuit type, and this time turned on its head with the addition of the pecan praline filling in the fashion of a cinnamon or Danish roll.

The Recipe

Yield 12 servings, pre-heat oven to 400° F.

Peach Filling


Ingredients


8
Cups
Fresh sliced peaches


1
Cup
Granulated sugar


1
Cup
Cool water


2
Tbsp
Cornstarch


1
Tsp
Ground cinnamon






Procedure Steps


1.
Cut the peaches into wedges and reserve.


2.
In a large saucepot, combine the sugar, water, cornstarch, and cinnamon, stir to dissolve the sugar and cornstarch, then turn on the heat to medium and add the peaches. Stir well evenly coating the peaches, continue to cook until thickened, and just starts to bubble. Turn off the heat and cover, keep warm.






Pecan Praline Dough Filling


Ingredients


¾
Cup
Brown sugar, packed


¼
Cup
Butter, melted


1 ½
Cups
Pecans, chopped






Procedure Steps


1.
Melt the butter in a medium bowl, add the brown sugar, and then stir well to dissolve.


2
Add the pecans and stir until well and evenly coated, and then reserve for filling the dough.








Dough


Ingredients


¾
Cup
Milk


2
Tsp
Lemon juice


2 ¼
Cup
All-purpose flour


2
Tsp
Brown sugar


2
Tsp
Baking powder


½
Tsp
Baking soda


½
Tsp
Salt


½
Cup
Shortening or butter






Procedure Steps


1.
In a small bowl combine the milk and lemon juice, and then set aside.


2.
In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. If no food processor is available, use a large bowl.


3.
Cut in the shortening or butter using the food processor, or in the case of manual cutting, use a pastry blender or pastry knife tool. Cut in the shortening until it resembles coarse crumbles.


4.
Turn out the flour / shortening mixture into a large bowl and make a well in the middle. Add the milk mixture and stir just until the dough clings together and is in one solid mass.


5.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and kneed gently for ten to twelve turns.


6.
Roll the dough into an 8-inch by 12-inch rectangle. Then spread the reserved pecan praline filling evenly over the top of the dough.


7.
Roll up the dough from one of the long sides, and then cut into twelve 1-inch pieces.

Putting it all together

Transfer the hot peach filling into an ungreased 9×11 pan or baking dish. Place the filled dough rolls with the cut side down on top of the peaches.

Bake uncovered for about 25 minutes or until golden brown on top and the dough appears fully baked.

Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes.

Serve warm and if desired serve with heavy cream or half-and-half drizzle.

Bon appetite!

CCR

=:~)

©2010 CCR