Chez Panisse Peach Cobbler

Posted on request, this is taken from Lindsey Shere's book, "Chez Panisse Desserts", which contains dessert recipes from the restaurant's longtime pastry chef.

• Ready In: 35 mins
• Serves: 6
• Yields: 6 cobblers

Ingredients

• 1 3⁄4 lbs  peaches, firm & ripe
• 2  tablespoons sugar, to taste
• 3  tablespoons flour
• 1 1⁄2 cups flour
• 3⁄8 teaspoon salt
• 1 1⁄2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 1⁄4 teaspoons baking powder
• 6  tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3⁄4 cup  whipping cream
• 2  tablespoons  whipping cream (in addition to the 3/4 cup, above)

Directions

1. Wash, peel and pit the peaches. Slice them thin in a bowl; you should have 3 or 4 cups. Toss with the sugar and flour. Divide among 6 custard cups or individual souffle' dishes, filling each almost to the top. Make the cobbler dough (see below) and roll it out 1/4 inch to 1/3 inch thick. Cut pieces with a cookie cutter to fit the tops of the baking dishes, leaving 1/4 inch of the fruit exposed around the edges. (You can also cut the dough to desired shape with a knife or make patties of the dough, remembering to allow room for 1/4 inch of the fruit to be exposed.) Set the dough biscuits on top of the fruit and brush their tops with cream. bake in the lower third of a preheated 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. Serve with the 3/4 cup whipping cream (pour over the cobbler, if desired).
2. Variation: To make a peach and raspberry cobbler or a peach and blueberry cobbler, add about 3/4 cup raspberries or blueberries to the peach mixture before tossing with the sugar and flour.
3. For cobbler dough: Mix the dry ingredients for the dough, leaving out the salt if you are using salted butter. Cut in the butter until the mixture looks like coarse cornmeal. Add the cream and mix lightly, until the dry ingredients are just moistened. The dry ingredients for the topping can be prepared up to several days ahead and kept refrigerated. The cream can then be added when you are ready to bake the cobbler.