Peach Cobbler

This cobbler celebrates peaches the way a summer afternoon should: ripe, fragrant fruit softened just enough to release its juices, brightened with a splash of lemon and gently spiced with cinnamon, all under a golden, biscuit-like topping that bakes into peaks and little craggy edges. The topping here is more of a drop-batter than a rolled biscuit, so you get tender pockets of dough that brown around the exposed fruit and soak up a little of the syrupy filling. I keep the filling simple—sugar, cornstarch and lemon—so the peaches remain the star and the sauce is glossy, not gloopy.

What makes this version reliable is a few small choices: macerating the peaches for 10–15 minutes draws out juices so the cornstarch activates evenly; using chilled butter and cutting it in until pea-size crumbs creates a lacy, tender topping; and reserving half the sugar for the topping gives those biscuit peaks a fine, caramelized finish. Let the finished cobbler rest 15 minutes before slicing so the filling sets slightly—this keeps your portions pretty and the texture just right for spooning over a scoop of vanilla ice cream.