Monday, April 1, 2019

Peach Crisp


Peach Crisp


What is the difference between a crisp and a cobbler? While both are fruit-based desserts that have no bottom crust, the difference between the two is the topping.

In a cobbler, the fruit filling is covered with tiny, unsweetened biscuits. The cobbler is served upside-down, so that the biscuit is on the bottom. It is there to absorb the sweet and spicy fruit juices.

A crisp is covered with a granola-like topping that toasts during baking. Crisp topping is heavy with butter and sugar, and most often contains quick cooking oats as an ingredient. When served, the crisp topping tends to get mixed in with the fruit. It adds sweetness and crunch to the mix as well as serving as a gentle thickener.

The key to making both crisp and cobbler topping remarkable is to be sure not to overmix the ingredients. Both the dough for cobbler biscuits and the shortening for crisp should be incorporated using a pastry cutter. This device allows the flour to be coated with shortening without exciting the gluten. The end result is flaky biscuits or well browned crisp.

Both crisps and cobblers can be made using frozen fruit. I had an economy-sized bag of peaches in the freezer, so decided that peach crisp would make a nice addition to an otherwise gloomy (and eventually snowy) day.

Peach Crisp
Filling
6 cups sliced, peeled peaches
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1 tbsp. corn starch
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground ginger

Topping
3/4 c. packed light brown sugar
1/2 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. uncooked quick cooking oats
1/4 c. softened butter, divided into tablespoons

For filling, whisk together sugar, corn starch and spices. Place peaches in a large bowl, and cover with the dry ingredient mixture. Use a wooden spoon to coat the peaches thoroughly.

To make topping, whisk together sugar, flour and oats. Using a pastry cutter, cut butter into dry ingredients one tablespoonful at a time. Mixture should be look like coarse crumbs.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a deep casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. Dump peaches into casserole. Sprinkle topping evenly over fruit.

Bake uncovered for 35 minutes or until topping is golden.