The 80-Year-Old Peach Cobbler Recipe I Will Never Stop Making

It’s peak peach season right now, and displays of fresh stone fruit dominate the produce section at my grocery store. The mere sight of ripe, orange-pink peaches sent me searching for an old-fashioned peach cobbler recipe.

I wanted something time-tested, so I started my search in r/Old_Recipes. If you're not familiar, it's a forum where people share family recipes, old newspaper clippings, and retro cookbooks.

It didn't take me long to find a recipe that fit the bill. I decided to make Nealie Washington's peach cobbler, and I'm so glad I did.

This Peach Cobbler Is an Old Family Recipe

This take on peach cobbler was shared by Reddit user u/myrtlebeachbums, who says the recipe came from Nealie Washington, a longtime family friend. The post says Washington lived in Texas, where he worked as a train porter, and that he was best known for his kindness and his cooking.

Peach cobbler was one of the many dishes Washington liked to prepare, and the poster estimates this recipe is from the 1940s. 

Like many recipes of that era, it calls for canned peaches, but you can easily use fresh, in-season peaches instead. (Scroll to the end to see how.) This cobbler is excellent both ways.

What I Love About This Peach Cobbler

What first caught my attention is that this recipe is so simple. The flour, sugar, milk, baking powder, and vanilla are whisked together in a bowl, then spread into a buttered pan and topped with canned sliced peaches.

I worried that adding all the syrup from a large can of peaches to the baking dish would turn the dessert into soup. Happily, I was wrong; the cobbler mixture puffed up beautifully as it baked to surround and cover the peaches. Using a pinch of tapioca in the peach mixture helps transform the peach syrup into a thick, sweet sauce.

The finished cobbler has crisp, sticky edges and a golden brown surface. Underneath, the cobbler and peach mixture is very soft, with a texture that reminded me of dumplings poached in fruit. It smelled so good coming out of the oven.

My family and I eagerly dug into bowls of the warm dessert topped with vanilla ice cream. I can see why Nealie Washington’s friends loved this one; it really is a perfect summer dessert. 

Tips for Making This Peach Cobbler

• The recipe calls for a large can of peaches. Through some trial and error, I found that one 29-ounce can of sliced peaches in heavy syrup is a good quantity to use. 
• Though the directions call for a 9x12-inch baking dish, I used a standard 9x13-inch with no problem. 
• This cobbler is even more delicious when made with ripe, fresh peaches. To do this, peel and slice six peaches; toss them in a bowl with a quarter-cup of water, a quarter-cup of granulated sugar, a quarter-cup of brown sugar, and the nutmeg and tapioca called for in the recipe. Let the peaches rest for about 30 minutes until they’re juicy, then pour them over the mixture in the pan.