Cast Iron Skillet Peach Cobbler — A Small Batch

Here’s a sassy peach cobbler which I whipped up in a small cast iron skillet. It is a great summertime dessert — not to mention that it is so easy to make. Peaches are one of my favorite summer stone fruits. When at their peak, peaches are juicy, sweet and aromatic. This cobbler bakes the peaches just enough to bring out their wonderful aroma. And the “cobbler” recipe is an “upside down” creation. Pour the “cobbler” batter into the skillet first and then top it with the peaches before baking. It is a “cobbler in reverse.” The batter bubbles up around the peaches making a crisp topping. It also forms a crust. I made a “small batch” using a 8″-diameter cast iron skillet. This is a small skillet because of the steep sides. It has a 40 oz or 5 cup capacity — filled ot the top. So, I scaled down the reference recipe to fit into the skillet. It is perfect for just the two of us.

Recipe Inspiration from An Iowa Farm Infliuencer

The inspiration for this recipe comes from another reel which popped up on my Facebook feed. I often ignore these videos, but this particular reel caught my attention. The video’s author did a capitaving job of explaining how to make the perfect peach cobbler in a cast iron skillet. Nothing fancy; just a down-to-earth recipe. The entire episode caught my attention. The good looking young man turns out to be a “content creator” with a heafty social following. He grew up on an Iowa farm in a Mennonite community and his recipes emphasize the pleasures of gardening, farm-cooked foods, home canning, etc. etc. Kaleb Wyse started with a internet site in 2012. He has since expanded his media domain to include the Facebook, Instragram, TikTok, YouTube posts, appearances on cooking and talk shows and a New York Times best selling cookbook, There’s Always Room at the Table. And, now Kaleb has a support staff to go along with his ventures. He entitles his product, “Wyse Guide.” Wyse is a self-built enterpriser who has managed to do well. Kudos for his continued success!

I’m facinated with the similarities of Kaleb’s backgroound and my own. It brings back so much nostalgia. Wyse shares simple stories of growing up on an Iowa farm, walking across the yard to his Iowa grandmother’s farm house in the summertime, helping her cook, bake cookies, etc. I can relate to these experiences as they are very similar to my own memories. My grandmother also lived on an Iowa farm. I can still remember the smells of the farm (some good, some not so good), and the breeze, warm evening air. Of course, the house wasn’t air conditioned. The windows were cracked open at night bringing in the countryside. But my grandmother’s farm exemplified midwestern life at its best. And, it is a way of life which is slowly disappeairng. My rural grandparent’s farm — once miles in the countryside — is being swallowed up by the city of Waterloo. Progress? Hum.

My grandparent’s Iowa farm where my mother grew up. My great-great grandparents purchased a track of land for $1 an acre in the mid-1800s.

Here are my grandparents. My grandfather is showing off Iowa corn — this area of Iowan was fertile, and much of the corn was grown for seed crop. However, this corn was grown to feed the animals. My brother was a bit timid about the squeel of the hog.

I loved to go to the well house, and haul up a bucket of cold, fresh water for a drink straight from the well. I bet you wouldn’t drink the directly from the ground these days!

Self-sufficient Iowa farms and orchards

Back in the late 1800s — every Iowa farm and homestead had an fruit orchard including apple and peach trees. These old farm familes were totally self-sufficient with regards to providing food for the family throughout the year. No Walmart superstore in those days. In fact, no electricity! (A stove would be wood or coal burning.) So it is fitting to post a peach cobbler recipe here on my blog from the fourth-generation Iowa farmer and now social influencer, Kaleb Wyse. I’m guessing that his farm had an orchard, too, like my grandparents.

Here is an old, old apple tree on the farm cared for by my uncle. It made for great climbing. My uncle loved to graft fruit trees, and at one time had 5 varieties of apples growing on one tree!

Recipe

This is such a simple recipe to mix up with common ingredients which you probably already have in your kitchen. It contains a couple of unique aspects. First the recipe directs the cook to melt butter directly in the cast iron skillet in the oven. That makes things simple — no need to use another bowl. Then you mix up a thin batter and pour it into the skillet. Top it with fresh, ripe, sliced peaches. That’s it! As the cobbler bakes, the batter bubbles up from the bottom making a crisp topping. This is taking an “upside down” approach to a cobbler.

Here are the ingredients: The batter consistes of all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Plus, milk and vanilla extract round out the list. And, butter gos into the bottom of the skillet. Just simple ingredients. Cinnamon is optional but definately adds an aromatic flavor. I used in season, ripe peaches from a produce market.

I have a neat little cast iron “skillet” which is just perfect for this recipe. It has a 40 oz or 5 cup capacity — filled ot the top. Realistically, this skillek only holds about 3 cups peaches/batter without spilling over the top. The skillet is smaller than a standard 8″x 8″ baking pan or full-size cast-iron skillet with straight sides. I scaled down the recipe ingredients to fit the skillet.

To make the recipe, melt the butter. Pre-heat the oven for 350 degrees. Add a chunk of butter to the skillet and let it melt in the oven for 5 minutes. Since ovens warm up and heat differently, I decided to standardize the recipe by turning the oven on and pre-heating first — rather than adding the butter to the skillet and placing in a a cold oven.

Get the peaches ready. For this recipe, you need three or four fresh, ripe peaches to yield need 2 cups of peach slices. This amount allows the batter to bubble up between the slices. (However, if you really like peaches, increase to 3 cups of peach slices.) For this recipe, I peeled the peaches. For ripe peaches, the skins should slip right off. However, these peaches weren’t the best ones which I’ve ever purchased. So, I dipped them in boiling water to help loosen the skin.

I added a little sugar to the sliced peaches.

Mix up the cobbler batter. Stir together the dry ingreidnets. Then pour in the liquid ingredients.

Assemble and finish the cobbler. Pour the batter over the melted butter. Arranged the peach slices over the batter.

Bake in the pre-heated oven at 350 degrees until the cobbler is set in the center, crispy on top and the crust pulls away from the edges. About 30 minutes for this small cast iron skillet and recipe.

This cobbler is absolutely delicious — especially when served warm. And, you must have ice cream with this cobbler. Oops — I’m out of ice cream and instead, topped the cobbler with a bit of sour cream. Vanilla yogurt would be good too.

This recipe is just what I like for the summertime. It is an exceptionally quick and easy recipe to mix up. And it tastes great, too. The peaches retain some of their “raw” flavor — making this dessert an aromatic treat. I’ll save this recipe!

I’m sure that if you wished, you could substitute other types of fruit into the recipe for other fruit cobblers — cherry or plum — would be great. More ideas!

And, good wishes to the continued success of Kaleb Wyse, Iowa farmer and content creator, and his team. I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for anyone who has an ancestry similar to my own. Scrolling through my Facebook feed at night was worth it this time.