Peachy Spiced Cobbler & The Liebster Award

One whiff of green cardamom and I bought a handful of the lemony-scented pods that pack a bit of heat and have a mild astringent effect on the tongue. Related to ginger, cardamom is a native plant in India, North Africa, and parts of Scandinavia according to Food.com's helpful food dictionary. I wanted both these spices in a pie, mostly because I like spicy flavors, but also because I'm comfortable working with them.

Count My Desserts on One Hand
I've made a handful of desserts in my life. I don't like cake much, and I can sit in front of muffins and doughnuts all day long without exuding a whimper. But let me walk into a diner and see a case full of fruit pies and I will hyperventilate. This is the ninth time in my life that I've baked something sweet. Seriously. I want that to change, though, now that I'm blogging about food. I tried my hand at a peach cobbler this time. I didn't make my own crust (it would have been disastrous), and I used organic, frozen peaches (because fresh, organic peaches not in season).

Spices and Poetry
I gathered, measured, and grated the spices I would use: the ginger, the cardamom, and other pie-centric spices. Having the right spice for a dish is like having the right word for a poem. So, I organize my spice rack to optimize my changes of putting my hand on the right spice at the right time (don't be impressed; the rest of the house is chaos).

Whole nutmeg (foreground), ground nutmeg, cinnamon, and green cardamom

Ready made whole-wheat crusts, unbleached sugar, peaches, wine

At the last minute, I decided to cut shapes for the pie top

Just-baked cobbler 

Peachy Spiced Cobbler Recipe

Ingredients

30 ounces of frozen, organic peaches (3 10-ounce packages)

1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon of vanilla

1/4 teaspoon of freshly grated ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground, green cardamom

1/8 teaspoon of allspice

1-1/2 cup of sugar (organic, unbleached if possible)

1/2 juiced Meyer lemon (or regular lemon)

1 ounce of Zinfandel wine

1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)

2 9-inch, whole-wheat pie crusts

1 tablespoon of turbinado sugar (a natural, crystallized sugar)

1 tablespoon of powdered sugar

18 raspberries and 6 sprigs of mint (optional,  for garnish)

Directions

1. Thaw peaches and place in a large, glass bowl.
2. Add all spices and the vanilla and stir gently.
3. Add sugar, lemon juice, and wine; stir mixture until sugar is dissolved.
4. Spoon mixture into one of the pie shells until three-quarters full.
5. Use a cookie cutter to cut shapes from the bottom of the second pie crust.
6. Space shapes from the crust evenly on top of the peach mixture.
7. Beat one egg for an egg wash; brush pie crust edges and on top of each pie-crust shape with the egg wash.
8. Sprinkle turbinado sugar on top of each pie-crust shape.
9. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 
10. Allow cobbler to cool for 10 minutes, then spoon into bowls and garnish with raspberries and mint.

Serves six

And...The Liebster Blog Award
Thank you Richelle of Beer. Butter. Bacon for listing me as one of five food bloggers for the Liebster Award. (Liebster means "dearest" in German.) This award is given by bloggers to fellow bloggers whose sites are considered "up and coming."  I'm honored to receive the Liebster Award and will display the banner proudly. This is a "pay-it-forward" type of award, so to continue the trend, I am giving the Liebster Award to the following up-and-coming blogs:

1. Mama with Flavor--www.mamawithflavor.blogspot.com 
2. House of Annie--www.houseofannie.com
3. Dulch Dough--www.dulcedough.com
4. Within the Kitchen--www.withinthekitchen.blogspot.com
5. Keep It Luce--www.keepitluce.com

Please visit these wonderful blogs!

Award-winning bloggers, here's what you're asked to do to accept your Liebster Award:

• Thank your Liebster Award presenter on your blog.
• Link back to the blogger who presented you with the award.
• Copy and paste the blog award to your own page.
• Award the Liebster to five deserving blogs, like yours, that have 200 followers or less and that deserve recognition.
• Leave a comment on each blog to notify the awardees and let them know the rules for bestowing the Liebster Award to other bloggers.