Residents of our neighborhood here in Birmingham celebrate a night out once a year on our beautiful historic boulevard. This evening involves loading up tables with Southern goodies for a wonderful potluck dinner of neighborly deliciousness.

With our local Alabama farmers’ market stands enticing shoppers with mounds of blushing, fragrant Chilton County peaches, I couldn’t resist contributing some old fashioned cobbler. And since no one is drinking alcohol at the Neighborhood Night Out, I figured I’d booze up my cobbler with Wild Turkey American Honey, the 2012 Flavored Bourbon of the Year in NY International Spirits Competition. That pan was emptied pretty quickly with demands for a larger batch for next year.

Bourbon Peach Cobbler

8 peaches, peeled and sliced

1/2 cup Wild Turkey American Honey

3/4 cup turbinado sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

pinch ground nutmeg

pinch ground allspice

pinch of sea salt

Crust

1 cups self rising flour

¼ cup sugar

1/2 stick salted butter

1/2 cup whole-fat buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 375° F. Boil the fruit for about a minute, then put the peaches in ice cold water for about another minute. Once cool enough to touch, you can easily remove the peels. Melt 1/2 stick butter in an 8-inch iron skillet over low heat until brown and bubbly. Stir in bourbon, spices, sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch, then add peaches. Simmer 5 minutes.

Make crust while fruit is simmering. Cut butter into flour and sugar in large glass bowl. Add buttermilk and combine with wooden spoon just until flour is moist. Drop small mounds of biscuit dough on top of peach mixture in skillet to cover top of fruit. (If using a baking dish, pour the simmering fruit into it before topping with the dough.) It is OK to have some peach mixture show through. Bake for 25 minutes or until top is golden brown.

photo: Ralph Daily