Peach Basil Cobbler w/ Shortening Crust
My church was having an outdoor event with bbq potluck and I signed up to bring a dessert, a peach cobbler to be exact. Basil and I typically haven't gotten along. Anytime a recipe has called for it (like a tomato sauce), I usually just double the rosemary and thyme and keep it pushing. But, I went out to eat with a friend a few weeks ago and was intrigued by the offering of a lemon basil creme brulee. It was utterly delicious to my surprise, and I found that while I hate basil in a savory context, I love basil in sweets and with fruit. Since then, I've been looking for an opportunity to experiment with fruit-based desserts with basil and this is it!
Peach cobbler is another family staple in which my father specializes, and I felt particularly challenged to step my game up this winter. The main hurdle in going from ok cobbler to excellent was figuring out pie crust (I've been using store bought for a minute).
I found the recipe that works for me in February. I am all about rich, tender, buttery, flaky crust though some in my family prefer more of a biscuit texture. My tried-and-true pie crust recipe since earlier this year has been this one at the Inspired Taste blog and it works GREAT. However, my goal since last year was to experiment until I create the perfect piecrust, and while I loved the Inspired Taste recipe, the texture didn't quite match the velvetiness of the cafeteria cobbler at my local HBCU which is the platonic ideal of piecrust for me.
As I was looking at recipes I realized that I had not yet tried making pie crust with shortening instead of butter and thought that that might affect the texture in a positive way. I meant to follow my tried-and-true recipe just substituting shortening, but on the side of the Gold Medal flour bag was a recipe for pie crust that also includes vinegar and I couldn't resist trying it out.
I really like the texture of the shortening crust; it was smooth, cakey?, but still flaky. Although, as other recipe reviews have noted--it doesn't quite have the buttery flavor I'm used. I did like the added tartness of the vinegar, so I think my next cobbler will be made half-butter, half-shortening with vinegar. I've never used an egg wash either so I have a few adjustments to make for next time. All in all, the peach cobbler was a success at the church event with only a small corner left, that I gave to my dad (I was even asked what the herbs were on top). Fingers crossed that he deems it worthy.
Peach cobbler is another family staple in which my father specializes, and I felt particularly challenged to step my game up this winter. The main hurdle in going from ok cobbler to excellent was figuring out pie crust (I've been using store bought for a minute).
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| rustic cast-iron apple pie with store-bought crust folded in half |
I found the recipe that works for me in February. I am all about rich, tender, buttery, flaky crust though some in my family prefer more of a biscuit texture. My tried-and-true pie crust recipe since earlier this year has been this one at the Inspired Taste blog and it works GREAT. However, my goal since last year was to experiment until I create the perfect piecrust, and while I loved the Inspired Taste recipe, the texture didn't quite match the velvetiness of the cafeteria cobbler at my local HBCU which is the platonic ideal of piecrust for me.
As I was looking at recipes I realized that I had not yet tried making pie crust with shortening instead of butter and thought that that might affect the texture in a positive way. I meant to follow my tried-and-true recipe just substituting shortening, but on the side of the Gold Medal flour bag was a recipe for pie crust that also includes vinegar and I couldn't resist trying it out.
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| 18" by 26" peach cobbler with shortening and vinegar crust, sprinkled with basil and lemon juice |
I really like the texture of the shortening crust; it was smooth, cakey?, but still flaky. Although, as other recipe reviews have noted--it doesn't quite have the buttery flavor I'm used. I did like the added tartness of the vinegar, so I think my next cobbler will be made half-butter, half-shortening with vinegar. I've never used an egg wash either so I have a few adjustments to make for next time. All in all, the peach cobbler was a success at the church event with only a small corner left, that I gave to my dad (I was even asked what the herbs were on top). Fingers crossed that he deems it worthy.
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