Pumpkin Cobbler -- When the Peaches Run Out, You Improvise

Three weeks until my birthday. Three weeks until forty. I have been trying not to think about it and failing, the way you fail at not thinking about anything you have decided not to think about. Forty is just a number. Forty is just the number that comes after thirty-nine. Forty is the age my father was when I was born, and he was already driving truck, already wearing the road on his face, already living the life I would eventually live. I am becoming my father. I have been becoming my father since I got my CDL at twenty-one, and the becoming accelerates with every year, and at forty it feels nearly complete.

My body at almost-forty: knees that pop when I stand up, a lower back that has a conversation with me every morning that I did not initiate, blood pressure that my doctor calls borderline, and a general stiffness that sets in after about six hours in the cab and takes twenty minutes to walk off. Nineteen years of trucking is written in my joints the way tree rings are written in wood. Each year leaves a mark. The marks add up.

I am not complaining. I am documenting. There is a difference.

I made a peach cobbler this week because the peaches at the farmers market were perfect: ripe, fragrant, the color of sunset. Sliced peaches, sugar, a little lemon juice, topped with a biscuit dough made from flour, butter, sugar, milk, and baking powder. Baked at 375 until the peaches are bubbling and the biscuit topping is golden and the kitchen smells like a prayer. Served warm with vanilla ice cream, which is the only correct way to serve peach cobbler, and anyone who says otherwise is wrong and I will not entertain their opinion.

Dave ate two servings and said it was the best cobbler I have ever made. He says this every time I make cobbler, every time I make anything, and I choose to believe him every time because the alternative is that he is lying, and Dave does not lie, and even if he did, the cobbler is good and his face when he eats it is good and that is all the proof I need.

Gayle came for Sunday dinner and had cobbler and said it was fine. Two bites of fine. Which, from Gayle, is a Pulitzer Prize for cobbler. I will take it.

That peach cobbler will not last forever — the season is already winding down and the farmers market peaches that made it what it was are nearly gone. But the need for something warm, bubbling, and golden does not wind down with the season, and when I started thinking about what comes next, pumpkin cobbler felt exactly right: same spirit, different fruit, the same kind of kitchen smell that makes a house feel like a home and not just a place where you park between hauls. Dave will say it is the best cobbler I have ever made. I will believe him.

Pumpkin Cobbler

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour | Servings: 8

Ingredients

• Pumpkin Filling:
• 1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• Cobbler Topping:
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Optional, for serving:
• Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven. Heat your oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish or a similar 2-quart baking dish.
2. Make the pumpkin filling. In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt until smooth. Whisk in the evaporated milk until fully combined. Pour the filling into the prepared baking dish.
3. Make the cobbler topping. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the cold butter pieces and use your fingers or a pastry cutter to work the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces remaining. Stir in the milk and vanilla until a soft, shaggy dough just comes together — do not overmix.
4. Top the filling. Drop spoonfuls of the biscuit dough evenly over the pumpkin filling. It does not need to cover every inch — the gaps let the filling bubble up around the topping as it bakes, which is exactly what you want.
5. Bake. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the pumpkin filling is set and no longer jiggles in the center, and the biscuit topping is golden brown. A toothpick inserted into the topping should come out clean.
6. Cool slightly and serve. Let the cobbler rest for at least 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm, ideally with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Leftovers keep covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and reheat well in a low oven or microwave.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 310 | Protein: 6g | Fat: 11g | Carbs: 48g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 280mg