Brown Butter Peach Cobbler
Stone fruit season is upon us! Which means peach cobbler season is also upon us. My brown butter peach cobbler is totally next level. Not only do I love every stone fruit, I also grew up with many of them growing right outside our back door in Washington state. You have not tasted a fresh peach until you have had one the size of a softball still warm from the tree. The peaches we get in Arkansas are a stark comparison. However, there are several local farms and they are pretty dang good too. In high school right out our door we had access to fresh peaches, nectarines, cherries, apricots, apples, and pears. My dad has since sold that orchard but we can still get our hands on plenty of delicious fruit when we go back for a visit.
Peach cobbler is definitely an all American dessert. Just about everybody likes it, and it is surprisingly easy to make. To take it up a notch I used brown butter in the topping and the freshest, juiciest peaches I could find. You could easily double the recipe to make enough for a 9X13, but the recipe I tested works perfect in an 8X8, or a nine inch pie pan.
Brown butter cobbler:
The first step is to brown your butter. This simply means cooking it over low to medium heat on the stovetop until it smells fragrant and brown bits are visible on the bottoms. These brown bits are where all the flavor comes from so scrape as many out as you can. Set aside to cool slightly, about 10-15 minutes. Next mix together your dry ingredients. This includes sugar, flour, salt and baking powder. Once the butter has cooled add you vanilla and stir. Add to the dry ingredients and mix to combine using a wooden spoon or spatula. The batter will be somewhat thick and resemble sugar cookie dough.
Peach filling:
This recipe works best with fresh, ripe peaches. You can definitely substitute frozen peach slices if need be, but try to get your hands on some fresh peaches if you can. Simply slice the peaches into thin slices, removing the pit of course. Toss together with brown sugar and a bit of cinnamon. Sprinkle this in either an 8X8 pan or a pie pan greased with butter. Using your fingers crumble pieces of the cobbler dough over the stop of the peaches. Sprinkle the top with turbinado sugar for a crunchy, sugary topping.
Bake in a 350 degrees Fahrenheit oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes crank the temperature up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for another 8-10 mins. The filling should be bubbling and the top golden brown. This brown butter peach cobbler is best served warm, preferably with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. Thankfully it is also just as delicious cold.
For more peach recipes check out my peach raspberry crisp here.
Brown Butter Peach Cobbler
Ingredients
Brown butter cobbler
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Peach filling
- 6-8 medium to large, ripe peaches
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- Turbinado sugar for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° and place oven rack in middle position. Prepare an 8X8 pan or 9 inch pie pan by greasing with butter. Set aside.
Brown butter cobbler
- Brown the butter using a pot over low to medium heat, stirring often. This takes about 8-10 minutes. The butter will become fragrant and brown bits will be visible at the bottom.
- Scrape the pot of all the brown bits and the melted butter into a bowl. Set aside to cool slightly for 10-15 minutes.
- In a separate bowl combine the dry ingredients: sugar, flour, salt and baking powder. Add the vanilla extract to the brown butter and dump into the dry ingredients. Stir to combine using a spatula or wooden spoon. Mixture will be thick and look like cookie dough. Set aside and make the peach filling.
Peach filling
- Slice peaches in half and remove the pits. Slice each half into equal, thin slices. Toss together slices with brown sugar and cinnamon. Dump into prepared pan.
- Using your fingers crumble the cobbler topping over the peaches. Sprinkle turbinado sugar over the top. Bake in preheated oven at 350° for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes has passed turn the oven temperature up to 450° and bake for another 8-10 minutes. The filling should be bubbling and the top golden brown. It is best served warm, topped with vanilla ice cream, but can be eaten room temperature or even cold.