MAKE IT 

Sometimes you just want a warm dessert and a good book to curl up with as you stare at the raindrops slowly trickle down your window. The soft pitter-patter outside serves as a soothing soundtrack to your peaceful afternoon. To aid in this bliss,  we’ve found the perfect vegan peach cobbler recipe for you by Nisha Vora ( @rainbowplantlife)

Serves 10 

What you need

1 pound (454g) ripe but relatively firm peaches

1/2 cup (75-85g) fresh blueberries

1/3 cup (45g) coconut sugar (or brown sugar)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (I recommend freshly grated nutmeg)

Scant 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

2 pinches of ground cardamom (optional)

10 tablespoons (140g) Country Crock Plant Butter

1 1/2 cups (180g) all-purpose flour

Scant 2/3 cup (60g) old-fashioned rolled oats

1 cup (200g) organic cane sugar

1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (the range is based on saltiness of your butter; I used a heaping 1/4 teaspoon or scant 1/2 teaspoon; use less if using sea salt instead)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/3 cups (320 mL) full-fat oat milk (I used Oatly)

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract (optional)

For serving: vegan vanilla ice cream (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Arrange a rack in the middle of your oven and preheat it to 375°F/190°C.
2. Cut the peaches in half and remove the pits, then cut the peaches into 1/4-1/2 inch thick slices (3/4 cm - 1 1/4 cm). Transfer the peaches to a medium or large bowl. Add the blueberries, coconut sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cardamom (if using), and toss gently to combine. Set aside for 30 minutes to allow the fruit to absorb the flavours.
3. Heat a skillet over medium heat, then add the Plant Butter. Once the butter is melted, stir it often and swirl the pan to ensure even browning and cooking, until it foams and then eventually browns. You might want to stand back to avoid splatter. The browning process should take 5-8 minutes. Take the browned butter off the heat and immediately pour brown into a 2-quart/2-liter baking pan. See note below on alternative pan sizes.*
4. In a medium or large bowl, combine the flour, oats, cane sugar, salt, and baking powder. Whisk in the oat milk and vanilla extract and almond extract (if using) until well combined. Using a ladle or measuring cup, ladle the batter on top of the brown butter. Ladling, instead of pouring all of the batter on top at once, helps the butter swirl and mix into batter. Top the cobbler with the peach-blueberry mixture.
5. Bake the cobbler for 45-50 minutes, rotating the pan 180° halfway through to ensure even browning until the top is deeply golden brown and bubbling. Mine took exactly 45 minutes.
6. Allow the cobbler to cool slightly before serving.

 Serve warm and, if desired, with vegan vanilla ice cream on top.

NOTES

* Regarding pan size, I used a 2-quart pan that’s roughly 11x7x2.5 inches, which is fairly deep for a pan that size. The batter filled up to nearly the top of this pan, so if your pan is slightly smaller or less deep, I recommend not overfilling it to the top (you can leave some of the batter + fruit filling aside and put it in a ramekin for a single-serving cobbler). Some readers have made it with a 3-quart rectangular pan such as 13x9-inch pans, as well as large 12-inch cast-iron skillets with good results. If your cast iron skillet is smaller (e.g., 8-10 inches), you’ll have leftover batter, but you can make a single serving cobbler in a ramekin!

EAT IT

Pair with: top your warm fresh peach cobbler with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and if you’re feeling extra fancy, swirl some caramel (link to biscoff cookie recipe) syrup on top as well!

If this Peach Cobbler is part of your live aastey moments, be sure to tag @live aastey!