Marilyn's Peach Crisp

This is my mom's crisp. Or depending on where you from - cobbler, crumble, buckle, etc. Basically a quick dough poured over fruit and baked until the fruit is sweeter and more sinful than it could have ever dreamed of being.

The only other peach cobbler I've made was Rebecca Rather's and it was delicious so I couldn't help but be suspicious of a recipe this simple. Then my sister made it and got raves so of course I had to make it.

We were in a hurry to get to Corpus for the weekend so I went ahead and mixed the dry ingredients together in a large ziploc and packed the butter separate in the cooler, softening it later in the microwave until just slightly melty but still generally together. Out of laziness (and not wanting to dirty another dish in a stranger's kitchen) I tossed the butter in the ziploc, smushed it around until all blended then poured the mixture over the sliced peaches. Not sure if I'll do it any other way from here on out. This was the devil in a blue dress. Or a glass baking dish, as was the case here.

Here's to the ziploc method! And to moms!

Marilyn's Peach Crisp
Ingredients:
4-5 large peaches, or about 8 of the smaller kind (ones slightly large than a golf ball, a la Fredericksburg peaches this time of year)
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt (I use kosher)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cups salted butter, softened (see method below)

vanilla extract (couple dashes)

Method:
Preheat the oven to 375. Butter or spray a 9x9 (8x8 works too) glass or pyrex dish and set aside.

If you're up to it, peel the peaches. I generally peel the first few then stop out of laziness and an urgency to get the crisp in the oven. Cut them into smaller 1/2 inch thick slices and add to the prepared dish, spreading out into an even layer. Make sure you leave out the pits;)

Sprinkle the peaches with a couple dashes pure vanilla extract (not necessary but my addition.)

In a large bowl (or ziploc), mix the flour, sugar, salt, and cinnamon together. Set aside while you soften the butter.

Soften the butter in the microwave on a small plate for just a few seconds until softened. In other words, the butter should still be cohesive, but just melty enough to have a little pool of its own goldenness around it.

Add the butter to the flour mixture and stir around (or smush if using the ziploc) until just blended together.

Crumble over the prepared peaches, in as even as a layer as possible.

Bake for 45-50 minutes until the top is just golden bronze (do not burn though) and the peaches are bubbling away underneath. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving with ice cream or whipped cream.