Baking with peach (part one) : Peach Cobbler

I am never a big fan of fruit dessert. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that I have never tasted any cobbler before, let alone a peach cobbler.

After doing some research on recipes, I decided to use the one from The Best Light Recipe. It is supposed to be a light recipe, which is good. Because I never tried any cobbler before, it is hard to tell if I have attained the right texture of a nice cobbler. All I know, is that I like the biscuit topping of this cobbler. OCT thinks it's pretty nice too. Except for the strong nutmeg taste, which I added to replace cloves.... What a silly mistake.

Next, I am going to make a peach cheesecake. I hope I will have some success this time.

Peach Cobbler
(adapted from The Best Light Recipe)

Filling
1 3/4 pounds peaches (3 to 4), pitted, peeled, and sliced
1/4 - 1/3 cup sugar (depends on how sweet the peaches are)
2 teaspoon cornstarch
pinch of cloves
1 tablespoon brandy
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Biscuit Topping
1 cup (5 ounces) unbleached all purpose flour
3 tablespoon yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. For the filling: Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss the fruit filling ingedients together in a 9-inch deep dish pie plate. Place the pie plate on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until the fruit releases its liquid and is hot and bubbling around the edges, 20 to 30 minutes.

2. For the Biscuit Topping: Meanwhile, whisk the flour, cornmeal, 1/4 cup of sugar, the baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl; set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk, butter, and vanilla together; set aside. In a third small bowl, mix the remaining 2 teaspoons sugar with the cinnamon; set aside.

3. When the filling is ready, stir the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture with a rubber spatula until just combined and no pockets of flour remain. Remove the cobbler filling from the oven and stir. Pinch off 8 equal pieces of biscuit dough and arrange them on top of the hot filling, spaces 1/2 inch apart. Sprinkle the tops of the biscuits with the cinnamon sugar.

4. Continue to bake the cobbler until the biscuits are golden brown on top and cooked through and the filling is again hot and bubbling, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool the cobbler on a wire rack for 15 minutes before serving.