Peach Cobbler

I've never made a cobbler before and I've never done anything with peaches other than eat them as they are.  That being said, I had a lot to learn before I could even attempt a peach cobbler and  I have a lot more to learn before I make another.

First off, the peaches in peach cobbler are skinless, so how do you peel a peach?  You don't.  You blanch it and the skins pretty much fall off.  I didn't know what blanching was, but it turned out pretty easy.  Basically you drop a scored peach into boiling water for about 45 seconds and then immediately stick in a bowl of ice water. When it's cool, the skin pulls off easily from the score marks you made. 

Next, you obviously do not want pits in your cobbler... A word to the wise here.  Peaches bruise super easy, and once they are bruised they turn to mush and become very difficult to work with further.  Pitting a peach, according to many internet sources, involves cutting a peach along a diameter down to the pit and then simply twisting both sides of the peach in opposite directions.  Whoever made that work is either using magic or forgot to mention some things in their directions.  The first poor peach I tried this on was in a sorry state after about 15 seconds.  For the rest of the peaches, I sliced away the ends first, exposing the pit, and then sliced along the pit get individual slices off. 

After all of the peach shenanigans, making the cobbler was easy.  Basically the peaches get combined with sugar and cornstarch and then topped with a soft dough that's simply dropped on.  It turned out wonderful.  Don't let the picture fool you!  If I had served warm out of the oven as suggested it would have been picture perfect, however a day in the fridge left the peaches soupy and the breading spongy. It did however, still taste wonderful.

-Beth