Ten years ago we got our first dutch oven as a wedding gift. You could say it’s a metaphor for our marriage: strong, dependable, occasionally gets rusty when it’s been neglected, but is good as new after being re-seasoned. A good marriage and a good dutch oven are up there on the list of things that can bring happiness in life. That dutch oven also came with a little recipe booklet. For years, we let that booklet guide how we made one of the most iconic dutch oven recipes: peach cobbler. The recipe was named “Lazy Peach Cobbler” and was what you would call a “dump style” cobbler. You threw a couple cans of peaches into the bottom of your dutch oven, sprinkled it with a cake mix, and then dropped some butter pats on top. It was super easy and tasted mostly alright, but there were always dry spots of mix that weren’t completely appetizing. Still, we didn’t branch out because, well we were being lazy.

Now we know better. After years of easy, but sub-par cobblers we decided we’d had enough and invested more time into cobbler making. After a lot of experimentation we discovered something surprising: it didn’t take that much more effort to make the cobbler of our dreams. The method we landed on was only slightly less lazy, but infinitely better tasting. This version will produce a cobbler with a completely homemade tender, cake-like topping that will impress your friends and family and you will be amazed at how easy it was to bake.

Fairly Lazy Dutch Oven Peach Cobbler

A peach cobbler with a completely homemade tender, cake-like topping that will impress your friends and family and you will be amazed at how easy it was to bake. Great for camping or backyard BBQs.
Course Dessert
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 8 people

Ingredients

  • 2 Cups flour
  • 1 1/2 Cups sugar
  • 1/2 Cup Dry milk powder
  • 1 TBSP baking powder
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 8 TBSP butter 1 stick
  • cinnamon
  • 1/2 Cup water
  • 3 pints canned peaches or 2 large cans (27-30 oz)

Instructions

At Home

  • Put the flour, sugar, milk powder, baking powder, and vanilla in a gallon sized plastic bag. Shake, stir or knead the mixture. Cut the stick of butter into 12 or more slices and add to the bag. Knead the bag with your fingers for about one minute to evenly incorporate the butter throughout the mix.

At Camp

  • Heat a chimney of charcoal.
  • When the charcoal is almost ready to use, begin assembling the cobbler. Dump the peaches, including the syrup, into the bottom of a 12" dutch oven. Pour the mix you made at home across the peaches. Sprinkle the top with cinnamon. Drizzle the 1/2 Cup of water across the top. Put the lid on top of the dutch oven.
  • Place 15 charcoal briquettes on the ground. (Start with a circle slightly smaller than the dutch oven and fill in the middle with what remains.) Set the dutch oven on top of the coals. Top the lid with 10 additional briquettes. Cook for 30-45 minutes or until done. Rotate dutch oven every 15 minutes for even cooking. Serve with cream or ice cream, if desired.

Notes

You can also use fresh peaches in this recipe. Slice 6-8 medium sized peaches. Mix the peaches with 1 C of water mixed with 1 TBSP sugar. Add to the bottom of the dutch oven and continue with the rest of the recipe.

Written by Audrey

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