Peach Cobbler

Peach cobbler — fresh peaches baked under (or over, depending on the tradition) a sweetened biscuit dough or batter until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is golden — is the South's summer dessert, timed to the peach harvest (June-August) and made from the fruit that grows in every Southern yard, orchard, and roadside stand. The cobbler tradition descends from English and Scotch-Irish fruit puddings adapted to the deep-dish format and the fruits available in the colonial South. Georgia claims the peach as its state fruit; South Carolina disputes the claim. The cobbler transcends the argument.

Ripe, sliced peaches (skin on or off — the debate is ongoing) combined with sugar, a squeeze of lemon, and a pinch of cinnamon, poured into a deep baking dish, and topped with one of three toppings: **biscuit dough** (dropped in rounds over the fruit — the most traditional), **batter** (a thin, sweet batter poured over melted butter, with the fruit added on top — the batter rises around the fruit during baking), or **streusel/crumble** (butter-flour-sugar mixture crumbled over the top). Baked at 190°C until the fruit is bubbling, the topping is golden, and the kitchen smells like August.