Bear's Peach Cobbler (well almost)...

So I was really looking forward to the recipe for Sweet Melissa Sunday's this week. Bear's Peach Cobbler was chosen by Andrea of the Nummy Kitchen. To me, there is nothing that says summer more than peaches, and with the recent turn in weather here, I was really looking forward to a peach dessert. However, there were a couple things I failed to take into consideration when preparing for the recipe this week. Mainly, its not quite peach season and the peaches from California we are getting in our grocery stores on the east coast are not quite ripe when we buy them. The peaches were not going to ripen overnight, so I decided to make a cherry cobbler instead.
Unlike most of the Sweet Melissa bakers, I have an overabundance of pie cherries in my freezer right now. I picked a ton of them last year and did not have many opportunities to use them as I had my second daughter in October of last year. Much of my baking was put on hold for a while and I never got around to making the cherry jam I had planned on making.
I basically followed the recipe exactly as written with the exception of adding a little almond extract to the cherry mixture. The only problem I had was the dough for the cobbler topping was a little sticky which made it somewhat challenging to cut out. I had originally intended on using a heart shaped cookie cutter, but after half the hearts sticking and stretching, I just decided to pat the dough down to a half inch and spread it evenly over the entire fruit mixture. I think next time I make the recipe I will chill the dough a little before trying to cut it out. Time was not on my side when I was making it as I squeezed it in between a baby shower and dinner at my parents, so I had to make the best of what I had.
Though not as cute as it would have been with the heart shaped cut outs, the cobbler was really delicious. I brought it to my parent's house for dinner and served it with vanilla ice cream. I forgot my camera at home and my dad really, really liked it so I left the last serving for him, so I do not have any pictures to post this week... Maybe next time when I have a little more time and some fresh peaches to work with! Of course, as I am leaving my parent's house, I was telling my sister what happened with the recipe and she told me she has ripe peaches at her house and was not sure if she was going to be able to eat all of them! I guess that is just how it works out sometimes!
Thanks Andrea for the wonderful recipe! When the peaches are ready to pick in a month or so, I will definitely give the recipe another go. You can find the recipe for Bear's Peach Cobbler at Nummy Kitchen.