I’m one of those folks who never quite cooks the same thing twice. I think this comes from learning to cook at my late Nana’s side and using her not quite precise form of weights and measurements. You seasoned cooks know how it goes: a pinch of this, a dash of that and just enough of the other in order to make it taste like you know it’s supposed to taste.
The difference between my Nana and me though, is that she was a fantastic cook. Known throughout Harlem for her skills in the kitchen and her generous and open heart when it came to food.
I recall her saying to me once, “you’d be a great cook if you learned to cook with love.” True to nature (and at times cursed with a tongue quicker than my brain) I lashed back with, “well I guess I’ll never be a great cook!” That little quip did not go over too well, but despite my lack of enthusiasm in the kitchen I’m happy to say I did learn enough from my Nana to, if not be a great cook, then to be a cook that is good enough to make some of her staples with passable ease. I can make collard greens, macaroni and cheese, baked ham and roasted turkey wings with enough skill that I can fool some into thinking cooking is something I might even enjoy.
One of her dishes that I was blessed enough to just about master is her Peach Cobbler. I’ve gotten good enough with that one so much so that now that she’s passed away my bother request’s for me to make it for holiday gatherings and special occasions.
In AS GOOD AS THE FIRST TIME I used memories of being in the kitchen with my Nana for lots of writing inspiration. There is hint of her in Aunt Joyce’s confidence and quick wit and a little bit of me in both sisters in the book Olivia and Alexandrea.
In the back of AS GOOD AS THE FIRST TIME I shared a few recipes that I made up by putting some character twists on my late Nana’s recipes.
Now like when my nana was alive all the recipes were made up from taste and memory, since sadly, she passed away quite suddenly and unexpectedly without having formally written down any of her recipes. That said, any fault with them are purely my own, as when she was in the kitchen it was pure magic.
Today I’m sharing the recipe for Pecan Peach Cobbler for One. I had lots of fun testing and tasting this recipe to get it to this point and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. If you do give it a try, I’d love to hear how it went for you. Please share your comments and photos with me through my contact at kmjackson.com, on FB at https://www.facebook.com/KmJacksonAuthor/ or on Twitter @KwanaWrites.
Thank you so much. Happy reading, baking & eating!
Pecan Peach Cobbler for One, Serves 4 to 6 (see what I did there!)
Prep time: approximately 30 minutes
Baking time: approximately 35–45 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 cups diced canned peaches, with peach liquid
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon honey
- ¾ stick of butter plus ¼ stick
- ½ cup flour
- ¾ cup of milk, whole or 2%
- Dash of nutmeg
- Dash of cinnamon
- Nonstick cooking spray
- Two ready-made pie crusts
- Large muffin tin, 4–6 ramekins, or 4–6 individual muffin tins
- ¾ cup chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cobbler filling
- In a large bowl, mix the diced peaches in liquid, the granulated sugar, the brown sugar, and the honey.
- Melt 3/4 stick of butter. Gently add the butter to the peach mixture.
- In a separate bowl, mix the flour and ¾ cup milk. Stir, then add this to the peach mixture.
- Add nutmeg and cinnamon. Set aside.
Crust
Spray your tins or ramekins with nonstick cooking spray. Roll out the pie crusts and cut into quarter sections. Roll the sections to stretch them out (they don’t have to be perfect, just stretched enough to fit your tins). Take each section and place it in the bottom and on the sides of the tin or ramekin.
Tip: Place your ramekins on a parchment paper pre-lined baking sheet to protect your oven and help with cleanup.
Add the peach filling mixture into each tin, filling each only halfway.
Tip: Don’t add too much liquid. If you have some left over, it is okay. You want the peaches and you don’t want it to overflow.
Sprinkle chopped pecans on top of each cobbler.
Slightly fold in the crust edges (not too tightly) and brush with ¼ stick melted butter.
True to its name, the small southern town of Sugar Lake is a sweet place to visit—and you might even want to live there . . .
With her big-city career and relationship in sudden free fall, Olivia Gale isn’t sure where she belongs. So when her help is needed at Goode ʼN Sweet, the family bakery in Sugar Lake, she jumps at the chance to indulge her pie-making hobby while getting her life back on track. Olivia’s not looking for any distractions. Even if the boy who once left her without a word is now a grown man with intriguing secrets—and the same tempting hold on her heart . . .
A firefighter and single dad, Clayton Morris is trying hard to fix his past mistakes. He thought he was doing the right thing by leaving Olivia—and now he’s sure he has nothing to offer the accomplished woman she’s become. But ignoring the sparks between them is impossible. And as unexpected surprises and hard choices endanger their fragile reunion, they’ll have to decide which direction to take if they want to find the road back to love . . .
“A wonderful, heartwarming romance.” —Rochelle Alers, author of The Innkeepers Series
“A damn-near perfect story of family, starting over, and second chances.” —Kristan Higgins, New York Times bestselling author
“K.M. Jackson gets right to the heart of family, to the heart of relationships, to the heart of love. She’ll get right to your heart, too!” —Donna Kauffman, Wall Street Journal & USA Today bestselling author
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