Peach Cobbler with a Chai Spiced crust
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of taking a joy ride down to Portland; three hours of sipping on iced coffee and listening to my favorite 90's hits. I seriously loved every second of that drive. And the reason for this mini road trip was to collaborate with Natalie & Holly, the incredibly talented duo behind The Modern Proper. I originally met Holly just about a year ago at an event we both attended. It only took about two minutes for me to realize that we were destined to be friends. Fast forward one year, and there I was in Portland, baking, styling, and shooting alongside her and Natalie.
After a few brainstorming sessions, the ladies behind the modern proper and I decided to create a recipe that would put a twist on a the oh-so-classic fresh fruit cobbler. We were each recently given these super cute pie dishes from falconware enamel, so it was pretty clear that making mini cobblers was the best way to go.
These falcon pie dishes are so cute, aren't they? They actually come in handy if you ever want to make a cobbler for two...or one (no judgement). Each recipe we created yields enough filling and topping to fill three dishes, one traditional 8x8, or one 9-inch pie dish.
The two desserts we ended up creating were a brown butter, pistachio, and blueberry cobbler, (the recipe for the blueberry crumble can be found on The Modern Propers blog) and a peach and chai spiced crust cobbler. Blueberries and peaches are some of our favorite summer fruits, so using them in our recipes was a no-brainer. What I love most about these types of desserts is that they aren't too fussy, plus they taste amazing with a scoop of yummy ice cream.
For this recipe I found myself inspired to use a small round biscuit cutter for the crust. I have seen a few fellow bloggers take this approach, so a big thanks goes out to bojon gourmet and apartment 2b baking co for the inspiration.
We all know that summer won't last forever, so get out there and enjoy all those wonderful stone fruits and berries. Oh, and if you're loving these enamel pie dishes and plates, make sure to head over to my instagram account because the modern proper and I are giving away a set of each to one lucky person!
Peach Pie with a Chai Spiced Spelt Crust
serves 8
½ cup flour, plus extra for dusting
¾ cup spelt flour
1 tbsp sugar
¼ tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cardamom
¼ tsp freshly ground pepper
1 stick very cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces
1/2 cup water very cold
For the peach filling
6 cups peaches, peeled, sliced
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped, or 1 tsp vanilla extract
2 T. cornstarch
⅓ cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1 ½ tsp lemon juice
To finish
Egg wash made with 1 egg yolk mixed with 2 tablespoons water
3 tbs turbinado or granulated sugar
Special equipment: 1, 9 inch pie pan, 1 ,8 x 8 baking pan or 3 Falcon Enamelware pie dishes, large bowl, 2-inch dough cutter
Method
Place both flours, sugar, salt, and remaining spices in a large bowl and whisk together to combine. Add the cubed butter to the bowl and using either your hands, or a pastry cutter, work the butter into the flour until it resembles the size of small peas. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the cold water over the mixture, and begin to fluff using two forks. Continue this process, one tablespoon at a time, until 3 tablespoons have been added.
If dough seems a bit dry, sprinkle a 1/2 teaspoon of water at a time until the dough resembles shaggy crumbs. Turn the dough onto a work surface and gently knead a few times until it comes together. Flatten the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, and up to 2 days.
For the filling: Cut the peaches into slices that are about 3/4-inch thick. Add the sliced peaches to a large bowl, then add the vanilla bean seeds, cornstarch, sugar, salt, and lemon juice; tossing to coat the peaches.
Set oven to 375°F. Remove the dough from refrigerator and let sit for 5-8 minutes before rolling it out. Dust your work surface generously with flour and roll out the dough until it’s about 1/8-inch thick. Using a dough cutter that's about 2-inches wide, begin to cut out 36 discs; re-rolling the dough once to make enough dough rounds.
Pour the peach filling into a 9-inch pie pan, 8 x 8 baking pan, or divided between 3 Falcon Enamelware pie dishes. Arrange the pie dough pieces over the top of each pie; should be 12 rounds per pie dish.
Brush the tops of the cobbler with a bit of egg wash, and a light sprinkling of sugar. Place into the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown, and the pie is bubbling.
Remove from oven, and allow to cool slightly before serving with a giant scoop of ice cream!
Enjoy!