This is the easy "magic batter" cobbler: you pour a simple batter over melted butter, spoon peaches on top, and as it bakes the batter rises up and around the fruit into a golden, cakey-crisp crust. Use fresh peaches in summer, or frozen/canned any time of year.

Ingredients

  • 6 cups sliced peaches (fresh, frozen & thawed, or canned & drained)
  • 1 cup sugar (for the peaches) + 1 cup sugar (for the batter)
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon + 1 tsp vanilla
  • ½ cup (1 stick) butter
  • 1 cup flour + 1 tbsp baking powder + pinch salt
  • 1 cup milk

Method

  1. Macerate. Toss the peaches with 1 cup sugar, the cinnamon and vanilla. Let them sit while the oven heats to 350°F (175°C) — they'll get juicy.
  2. Melt butter. Put the butter in a 9×13 baking dish and set it in the oven just until melted.
  3. Make the batter. Whisk the flour, the other 1 cup sugar, baking powder, salt and milk into a smooth batter. Pour it evenly over the melted butter — do not stir.
  4. Add peaches. Spoon the peaches (and their juices) over the batter — again, don't stir. The batter rises through the fruit as it bakes.
  5. Bake. 40–50 minutes until the crust is deep golden and the edges bubble. Cool slightly and serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

🍑 Don't stir

The whole trick is leaving the layers alone — butter, then batter, then peaches. Stirring ruins the self-forming crust.