Southern Brown Butter Bourbon Peach Cobbler with Frozen Peaches
The warm spiced peaches with the flaky, golden crust already make this old-fashion classic an instant crowd pleaser. Add candied brown sugar and bourbon syrup and your tastebuds will be in heaven. This peach cobbler is potluck perfection.
12tablespoons1 ½ sticks cold unsalted butter, frozen & cut into ½" cubes
10tablespoonsbutter-flavored shorteningchilled
1tablespoonapple cider vinegar
8tablespoonsice cold watermore as needed
1eggfor egg wash
1 ½tablespoonswaterfor egg wash
2tablespoonscoarse sugar (turbinado or demerara)for dusting
Brown Butter Bourbon Peach Filling
8tablespoons1 stick unsalted butter, divided + more for greasing pan
4lbssliced frozen peachesunthawed
¼cupwater
1cupdark brown sugar
1 1/2teaspoonsground cinnamon
1/2teaspoonground nutmeg
1teaspoonkosher salt
¼teaspoonblack pepper
1teaspoonpure vanilla extract
2tablespoonscornstarchoptional
4tablespoonsbourbon
Instructions
Prepare Butter & Shortening 9x13 Double Pie Dough
To a large bowl, add flour, sugar, salt and whisk thoroughly.
Add in frozen butter butter and chilled shortening. Cut the butter, shortening and flour with a pastry cutter. If you don’t have a pastry cut it into the flour with a knife, squeeze with your hands.
Pour in liquid (water & apple cider) and stir until you start to see a dough come together and congeal into a craggy ball.
Pour dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Cut dough into four even pieces and stack on top of one another. Press down flat and repeat the cutting and stacking process 2-3 more times.
Cut dough in half and form into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours but preferably overnight.
Prepare Brown Butter Bourbon Peach Filling:
In a large pot over medium heat melt the butter, stirring continuously until butter turns golden and smells nutty, 3-5 minutes. When the butter starts to foam and brown bits start to form in the bottom of the pan, remove it from the heat.
Add frozen peaches, water, and occasionally stir for 5-6 minutes. Once peaches begin to unthaw, the mixture becomes warm to touch. Stir in brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, pepper, and vanilla then bring to a simmer - 3 minutes or until sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and stir in bourbon.
OPTIONAL: Thicken peach sauce
Check the syrup consistency. If you like your syrup thicker, make a slurry by stirring together with 3 tablespoons of the pot syrup and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. Stir the slurry into the pot and simmer for 2 minutes.
Remove the peach mixture from the heat and stir in the bourbon.
Roll Out Pie Dough & Assemble Peach Cobbler:
Preheat oven to 400℉. Grease a 9x13 pyrex or baking pan with 1 tablespoon of butter.
Remove pie dough from the fridge and lightly flour a flat surface. Roll out a single pie dough disk into a rectangular shape 1⁄4 inch thick to extend past the length and width of the baking pan you are using.
Add the rolled out pie crust to the greased baking pan, making sure that there are no pockets of air and that it is pressed into the corners of the pan. Use a fork to pierce the crust all along the bottom and sides. Allow the crust to just hang over the sides of the pan and cut off any excess dough hanging over the edges, and preserve them to help make the lattice top.
Scoop the peach filling into the baking pan and spread it out evenly.
Re-flour surface for the next pie dough. Combine the remaining single portion of dough with the excess preserved dough and roll it out to 1⁄4 inch thick. Cut dough into (8-10) 1 ½ inch wide strips - it’s ok if the lengths are different.
Starting with the longest in the middle, place strips on top of peach filling in diagonal rows 1 inch apart.
Place another row of strips going the opposite direction 1 inch apart.
Trim the excess strips hanging over the edges and pinch where the lattice strips and meet the edge of the baking pan.
In a small bowl whisk together the egg and water. Lightly brush lattice crust with egg wash, and sprinkle it with coarse sugar.
Place in the cobbler in the oven on the middle rack. For safety, place a baking sheet on the rack directly below the cobbler in case of overflow. Bake until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbly 30-35 minutes. You can loosely cover the edges with foil to prevent excess browning.
If using store-bought pie dough, use (3) 9-inch pie crusts . Cut one of the pie crusts in half. Combine 1 whole pie dough with ½ pie dough to make a rectangular pie crust for the bottom and 1 rectangular pie crust to cut into the lattice top.
If using canned peaches, use 3 (29 oz) cans and cook in syrup instead of adding excess water. Reduce overall cook time over the stovetop by 5 minutes. You will also need to decrease the sugar if using the canned peach syrup..
While baking, place a large sheet pan under the peak cobbler to prevent spillage.
Cover the edge of the crust with 2- to 3-inch wide strips of foil to prevent excessive browning