Peach Crunch

I make this recipe every fall after I finish bottling peaches - kind of a “second chance cobbler” of sorts.  No matter how careful and diligent I am - I always have at least 1 or 2 bottles that fail to seal.  This delicious recipe is one way to use up the fruit that didn’t make the grade.  Easy, fast, tasty.

Over thirty years ago we had a young family and my husband had his first teaching job at a middle school in Sandy, Utah.  Somehow he was the lucky person in charge of part of the faculty BBQ held right after school began in the fall.  The principal’s wife (Susan Sproul - who I’ve lost track of, and wish I could locate again...) brought this dessert to one of the very first BBQs that was held.  When I asked her for the recipe, she told me she uses it for those renegade bottles that don’t seal when she bottles peaches.  Ever since then, that is when I make it.

I’ve bottled fruit every year for the 35 years since I married, and there’s always a mishap.  The one I hate most is when the bottom of the bottle decides to crack - and it’s not a pretty picture that greets you when you take off the lid.  (My heart sinks when I see this)  

This is not your typical cobbler recipe where you make a batter or thick dough to pour over fresh peaches.  Simply dump a bottle of (fail-to-seal) peaches into a dripper pan (with only half of the juice), then proceed to make the interesting “crunch” topping.  

Very few ingredients required here... instant or quick-cooking tapioca and ground cinnamon are all you add to the bottled peaches.

The instructions for the topping will surprise you.  Did I mention QUICK?  (That’s important when you still have a bushel of peaches to finish)

Drizzle it with melted butter, then pop it in the oven.  

I would call it a cross between a cakey cobbler and a ‘crisp’ topping.  The most common mistake is to forget to sprinkle the peaches with cinnamon before covering the peaches with topping.  Can’t tell you how many times I’ve done that...

This is best served hot from the oven, but the longer it stands after cooling - the more crunchy the topping becomes.

Don’t forget a small scoop of ice cream, or a dollop of cream too.

The full recipe can be found at:
www.changeabletable.com