A Taste of History: Baking Peach Cobbler from a 1956 Bridgehampton Cookbook

While cataloging the shelves in the Bridgehampton Museum’s library, I stumbled upon a treasure–a cookbook from 1956, created for Bridgehampton’s tercentenary celebration (300th-year anniversary). Among its well-worn pages were recipes ranging from Bonacker classics such as oyster pie to the trending Jell-O salads of the 1950s. But, one recipe in particular caught my eye: peach cobbler.

Peach cobbler fresh out of the oven

While peaches are now out of season, Mrs. Herbert E Moyer’s one-page recipe for peach cobbler and lemon sauce looked too good to pass up. My sister and I have been trying desperately to decide on what we will bring to our family’s Thanksgiving dinner, so we set off to test Mrs. Moyer’s instructions, eager to bring a slice of history to life.

We first scoured the grocery store to gather all the ingredients listed on the page. Back in our kitchen, we dove in. As instructed, we cut two cups of peaches into thick slices and mixed them with sugar. While we prepared the oven, pans and batter, this mixture sat to the side for about 20 minutes, allowing the sugar to dissolve and create a syrup from the peaches’ juice.

After preheating the oven to 400°F, this was where we made our first deviation from the recipe. Instead of using shortening as called for, we opted for unsalted butter. Not only did we not have shortening on hand, but neither my sister nor I have ever used it while baking. Deciding to stick to what we knew, we creamed the butter and sugar with a whisk. Once creamed, we added a beaten egg and incorporated it thoroughly. We then sifted the dry ingredients in and beat the batter until it was smooth. For our second (and final) modification, we decided to eyeball the vanilla measurement, adding more than the suggested ½ teaspoon until it smelled just right. We poured the batter over the peaches in a greased ceramic 8” x 8” pan and placed it in the oven.

Batter spread over the peach mixture

While the cobbler baked, we attempted to follow Mrs. Moyer’s slightly confusing recipe for the lemon sauce. Having never made a cornstarch slurry before, we tried our best with only the brief recipe as guidance: we mixed the sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a bowl, then added it to a pot of boiling water, stirring constantly. The recipe instructed us

to continue stirring for 15 minutes, during

which time globs of cornstarch began to

Sugar, cornstarch, salt, and water mixture on the stove

form. To combat this, we squashed the clumps against the sides of the pot until they broke down.

After removing the mixture from the stove, we prepared the egg yolk, lemon juice, and butter. But when we returned to the pot less than three minutes later, we found that the mixture had crystallized! In a panic, we added in the remaining ingredients in hopes that they would soften the crystals. When this failed, we cautiously returned it to the heat. Thankfully, the solidified mass eventually melted back into a liquid just in time for us to take the cobbler out of the oven after 25 minutes. After letting it cool for a few minutes, we scooped servings of the cobbler into bowls and drizzled the sauce over our recreation of this 68 year old recipe.

Despite our inexperience and a few bumps along the way, we were pleasantly surprised by how everything came together in the end. The sauce created from the sugar and peach juice caramelized along the edges of the baked dough, forming a jelly-like texture that added another layer of culinary interest to the dessert.

Slices of the finished cobbler with lemon sauce

However, there was one issue: the peach-to-dough ratio left much to be desired. As we cut and served the cobbler, we found ourselves scooping extra peaches from under the cake to maintain the ideal balance of fruit and dough. By the time we reached the last few servings a few days later, the peaches were nearly gone, leaving behind thick, cakey slices with only a slight lingering taste of peaches. If I were to make this recipe again, I would double the amount of peaches to ensure every bite is as satisfying as the first.

Aside from the ratio, the flavors were delightful. The rich, buttery cobbler paired well with the refreshing zing of the lemon sauce, leaving us feeling accomplished in our mission to bring a small piece of Bridgehampton’s culinary past to life.

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Peach Cobbler - Mrs. Herbert E. Moyer

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sliced peaches

• ½ cup sugar

• ¼ cup shortening

• ½ cup sugar

• 1 cup cake flour

• 1 tsp. Baking powder

• ⅛ tsp salt

• 1 egg

• ¼ cup milk

• ½ tsp. Vanilla

Instructions:

1. Mix peaches with sugar

2. Cover bottom of a greased baking dish with fruit mixture

3. Cream shortening, add sugar and mix well

4. Add well-beaten egg

5. Sift flour, measure and sift again with baking powder and salt

6. Add with milk to first mixture

7. Add flavoring and beat until smooth

8. Pour batter over fruit in baking dish

9. Bake in moderate oven (400 degrees) 25-30 minutes

10. Serve with lemon sauce

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Lemon Sauce

Ingredients:

• ½ cup sugar

• 1 tsp cornstarch

• Pinch of salt

• 1 cup boiling water

• 1 slightly beaten egg yolk

• 3 tbsp lemon juice

• 2 tbsp butter

Instructions:

1. Mix sugar, cornstarch, and a pinch of salt

2. Add 1 cup of boiling water and bring to boiling point, stirring constantly

3. Boil and stir for 15 minutes

4. Remove from stove, add a slightly beaten egg yolk, lemon juice, and butter

5. Serve hot over the peach cobbler

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