Peach and blueberry cobbler with blueberry sour cream ice cream

Two things inspired this dessert:

- the fragrant baskets of Ontario freestone peaches at the grocery store

and

- the delectable lemon sour cream ice cream I had at Oliver & Bocacini Cafe Grill on Monday night

I have to be honest: I originally planned to make a pie. I always originally plan to make a pie. However, pie-making requires actually planning ahead: making the dough, letting it chill for at least an hour, and then having the counter space to roll it out. This is not always realistic, and since I still find pie dough making somewhat stressful, I tend to avoid it, despite my best intentions.

Instead, I had planned to do something halfway in-between; a cobbler with a pie-like crust, from The All-American Dessert Book. Fate, however, had other plans. I cut my thumb pretty badly while slicing the slippery peeled peaches. Now minus a hand, rolling out dough of any kind was out of the question. So I turned to Epicurious for some quick guidance.

I found one recipe that approximated what I wanted to do, and then changed it for my own purposes. And what is a warm fruit dessert without ice cream? Before the knife-slicing incident, I had managed to put together the Blueberry Sour Cream ice cream from Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan. P thinks this may be the best ice cream I've made yet - and it was so easy. No custard required; only a short cooking of the blueberries with sugar and lemon on the stovetop, and blending with the sour cream and heavy cream in a blender. The ease calls for experimenting with other flavors!

Peach & Blueberry Cobbler

for the fruit mixture:
5 - 6 cups of sliced, peeled peaches
1 cup of blueberries
2 tbsp cornstarch
juice from half a lemon
1 cup sugar

for the cobbler:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick (8 tablespoons) of butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup of heavy cream (any milk will do, but the heavy cream is nice)
1 tbsp sugar

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Mix the ingredients for the cobbler in a large bowl. Pour into a 2.5 quart oven-safe dish, or a baking dish that will comfortably fit the fruit. Bake fruit mixture for 10 - 15 minutes, or until just bubbling. It is a good idea to put a cookie sheet on a rack below the fruit, so that if there is overflow the oven stays clean.

While the fruit is baking, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Using your hand or a pastry cutter, incorporate the butter into the flour until resembling a coarse meal. Add the heavy cream until it forms a dough; you may not need all of it.

When the fruit is bubbling, distribute the dough across the top of the cobbler. Sprinkle the sugar over the top of the cobbler. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the top is browned. Serve warm.