Bourbon Palisade Peach Cobbler
There are some ingredients that don’t need much help, and a good Colorado peach in late summer is one of them.
This cobbler started as a test of exactly that idea. The first version was good, but there was too much biscuit for the amount of fruit. For the second round, I went heavier on the peaches, left the skins on, kept the sugar restrained and added a couple tablespoons of bourbon. The goal wasn’t to turn the peaches into a bourbon-flavored filling. It was to give everything underneath them a little more warmth and depth while still letting a good peach taste like a peach.
That turned out to be the right direction. The peaches aren’t precooked, so they don’t disappear into the filling. Some become meltingly soft while others keep a little bite, with the skins adding flashes of red throughout the syrup. Freshly grated nutmeg goes into both the fruit and the biscuit topping, where a surprisingly small amount makes a noticeable difference.
And the topping is very deliberately a biscuit topping: buttery, lightly sweet, crisp and craggy on top, ridiculously fluffy underneath. Don’t smooth it out. Drop it on unevenly and let the oven do the rest.
Serve it warm with butter pecan ice cream. I originally thought vanilla would be the obvious choice. I was wrong. For the development story behind this recipe, read Recipe Lab: Two Ways with Palisade Peaches.
Peach Filling
| Ingredient | Quantity | Unit |
| Fresh peaches, sliced with skins on | 5–6 | Cups |
| Granulated sugar | 3 | Tablespoons |
| Light brown sugar | 2 | Tablespoons |
| Maker's Mark bourbon | 2 | Tablespoons |
| Fresh lemon juice | 1 | Tablespoon |
| Lemon zest, finely grated | 1 | Teaspoon |
| Vanilla extract | 1 | Teaspoon |
| Almond extract | 1/4 | Teaspoon |
| Freshly grated nutmeg | 1/8 | Teaspoon |
| Kosher salt | 1/4 | Teaspoon |
| Cornstarch | 2 | Tablespoons |
Spiced Biscuit Topping
| Ingredient | Quantity | Unit |
| All-purpose flour | 1 1/2 | Cups |
| Granulated sugar | 1/4 | Cup |
| Baking powder | 2 | Teaspoons |
| Kosher salt | 1/2 | Teaspoon |
| Ground cinnamon | 1/2 | Teaspoon |
| Freshly grated nutmeg | 1/8 | Teaspoon |
| Unsalted butter, cold and cubed | 6 | Tablespoons |
| Oat milk | 1/2 | Cup |
| Fresh lemon juice or white vinegar | 1 1/2 | Teaspoons |
| Vanilla extract | 1 | Teaspoon |
| Almond extract | 1/4 | Teaspoon |
| Coarse or turbinado sugar, optional | As needed | – |
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9 × 5-inch glass loaf pan.
- Pit the peaches and slice them into substantial wedges, about 1/2-inch thick. Leave the skins on.
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- In a large bowl, gently toss the peaches with the granulated sugar, light brown sugar, bourbon, lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla extract, almond extract, freshly grated nutmeg, kosher salt and cornstarch. Let the mixture stand for 5–10 minutes, just until the sugar begins pulling out some juice.
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- Transfer the peaches and all of their accumulated juices to the prepared loaf pan. Do not precook or reduce the filling.
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- For the biscuit topping, combine the oat milk with the lemon juice or white vinegar and let it stand for about 5 minutes. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, kosher salt, cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg. Cut in the cold butter until irregular pea-sized and slightly larger pieces remain. Stir the vanilla and almond extract into the oat-milk mixture, then gently fold the wet mixture into the dry ingredients until a shaggy, moist biscuit dough forms. Do not overmix.
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- Drop irregular spoonfuls of biscuit dough over the peaches. Do not spread the dough into a smooth layer; leave cracks, valleys and openings for the topping to expand and the peach juices to bubble through. Sprinkle lightly with coarse or turbinado sugar, if using.
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- Bake at 375°F for about 45–55 minutes, until the biscuit topping is deeply golden and cooked through in the center and the peach filling is visibly bubbling around the edges and through some of the gaps.
- Let the cobbler rest for at least 30 minutes, preferably 40–45 minutes, before serving. Serve warm; butter pecan ice cream is the primary pairing, with fresh mint optional.
Notes & Tweaks
The tested production vessel is a 9 × 5-inch glass loaf pan. An 8 × 8-inch version has not been validated and is intentionally not presented as an equivalent bake.
The filling goes into the oven raw. Keeping the skins on and skipping a stovetop precook helped preserve a mix of meltingly soft peach pieces and slices with a little bite.
Butter pecan ice cream is the preferred serving recommendation. Fresh mint is optional.
