Maple Sugar Peach Cobbler

Three years ago I planted a couple of peach trees near our house in Vermont. I wasn’t sure they would fruit as we’re at 1500 feet and winters up here can be brutal. These were rated for zone 4, the absolute top of what I can safely plant. They hung on for the last few years, giving us beautiful spring blossoms but no fruit. Then this summer, they absolutely exploded with gorgeous, sweet, fuzzy peaches. It has been such a treat eating them right off the tree, canning them in maple syrup and whiskey and baking the last few sweet peaches into a cobbler.

This recipe uses maple sugar in the fruit and cake topping. It lends a rich flavor and the maple sugar brings the added benefit of 6 vitamins and minerals not found in white sugar. I used a small amount of cinnamon so as to not overpower the peach flavor. You don’t have to have a peach tree in the back yard to make this treat! Look for peaches that are soft to the touch and have a nice peach aroma. Sometimes it’s hard to find really ripe peaches at the grocery store, so buy what you can and let them sit on the counter for a few days!

Make the filling:

• 5 cups of peeled and pitted peaches, about 4 pounds
• juice from 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 cup Couching Lion Maple Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon of cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
• Butter a 3 quart baking dish and add sliced and peeled peaches. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the peaches and toss. In a separate bowl, combine the maple sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg. Sprinkle this over the peaches and toss gently to combine.

Make the topping:

• 1 1/2 cups of cake flour or all purpose flour
• 10 Tablespoons of unsalted butter, cold and cut into chunks
• 3/4 cup of Couching Lion Maple Sugar
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 cup of buttermilk

Put the flour and the butter into a cuisenart and pulse until the mixture resembles small peas. In a separate dish, combine the maple sugar, baking powder and salt. Add this to the cuisenart and pulse until combined. Mix the buttermilk and vanilla, and then add to the cuisenart. Pulse gently until just combined. Place spoonfuls of the cake mixture over the peaches.

Lastly, combine 2 tablespoons of maple sugar and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon. Sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon mixture over the cake and peaches.

Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 40-45 minutes. The peaches will be bubbly and the sugar will have caramelized on the edges of the pan. Enjoy warm with vanilla ice cream!