Peach Cobbler (or cherry...)

Cobbler of any kind is one of my all time favorite recipes.  Topped with a dollop of fresh whipped cream or ice cream- just can't beat it!  My Memommy made this peach cobbler last summer when we were in the states and I just HAD to have the recipe.  It's simply divine and for those of you in the good old US of A, quite easy as it calls for store bought pie crusts.  I don't have that convenience so I used my fave recipe (see below) for a double crust pie and doubled it.  You actually probably need about three crusts because I had some dough left over that I froze.  Here's the recipe:

Perfectly Delicious Pie Crust (for double crust pie)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
4 TBSP sugar'
1/3 cup Crisco
1/3 cup + 2 TBSP butter
\5 TBSP ice water

Combine flour, salt and sugar in large bowl.  Add Crisco and 1Tbsp butter and cut into flour mixture with pastry cutter until it resembles "pill size" consistency.  Add the rest of the butter and blend the same way.  Handle the dough as little as possible. (the less it's handled, the flakier it will be) Add 5 TBSP ice water and blend with knife.  Roll out into two 8 inch crust or whatever you need for your recipe.

Peach Cobbler

4-6 cups fresh peaches, chunked
1 1/4 cup sugar
3 T flour
1/8 t salt
1/4 tsp almond extract
3 TBSP melted margarine
(I also added cinnamon this time and it was yummy)

Put peaches in large bowl and stir in sugar, flour and salt.  Add almond extract, margarine and cinnamon if desired.  Line large casserole dish with pastry (I shaped two pie crusts into bottom of dish).  Pour peaches into pastry and then top with pastry strips or solid pastry.  Bake at 425 for 15 minutes and then reduce heat to 350 and bake about 45 more minutes until browned.

Top with cream or ice cream and enjoy!

One glory of living in Lebanon is the fresh fruit and veggies we can find year round.  I think early summer is my favorite though when the cherries and apricots are in season.  The cherries here are like none I've ever had before.  I LOVE cherry cobbler but don't love the mess it makes to pit all those cherries.  Thankfully I have a Maddie who loves all things messy and all things cooking so it makes cherry cobbler so much more enjoyable to make...

I don't have a picture of a finished cherry cobbler but here is the filling recipe I use.  I've tried several different crusts and I think the way I made the peach cobbler above is all around the best with any fruit, especially cherries...   Here's the cherry filling recipe:]

Cherry Cobbler Filling:

6 cups fresh pitted cherries
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
2 TBSP cornstarch
2 TBSP lemon juice
1 tsp almond extract

Mix all and let stand for 10 minutes.  Cook in saucepan until thickened and bubbly and add to favorite cobbler crust.