Keen on Peaches

I tend to use holidays as an excuse to whip up more extravagant meals and desserts, regardless of whether or not I partake in them. This being the fourth of July, I thought a hearty summery Southern dessert was in order. Peaches have finally started to show up at the Farmer’s Market and I took home 10-12 small/medium sized peaches for $4! Amazing! I’ve eaten a peach everyday for the last week and still have several sitting (and softening) on the counter. My initial response was to freeze them, ensuring their freshness for later in the year. Then I thought to myself, “it’s the beginning of July; I’ll have peaches at my disposal for several more weeks! Let’s make cobbler instead!”

And that is what I did.

Now, I never had peach cobbler before I became vegan, but I could imagine and ended up successfully recreated the warm velveteen peach buried under crisp and flaky cinnamon-scented biscuits. Since I didn't have any granulated sugar at my disposal, I used agave in it's place. I also used hemp milk as my non-dairy milk.

Vegan Peach Cobbler
adapted from vegweb.com
2/3 cup light agave nectar
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon light agave nectar
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
4 cup sliced peaches (about 6 medium peaches)
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon lemon juice
3/4 cup soy or almond milk
4 tablespoons vegan butter

Heat oven to 400. Mix agave, the cornstarch and cinnamon in a saucepan. Stir in the peaches and lemon juice. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir for one minute. Pour into an ungreased 2-quart casserole; keep hot in the oven.

Cut vegan butter into flour, the baking powder and salt until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in milk and agave. Drop dough by the spoonful onto hot peach mixture.

Bake until topping is golden brown - about 25-30 minutes.