Cobbling Up A Dessert

juice of 1/2 lemon

BISCUITS:

2 cups flour

2 tablespoons sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

4 tablespoons butter

3/4 cup plain yogurt

1/4 cup of heavy cream

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Toss fruit with 4 tablespoons flour, sugar, spice and lemon juice. Pour into a well-buttered, 9-by-3-inch baking dish.

Sift the 2 cups flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Cut in butter until flour resembles coarse meal. Stir in the yogurt and cream. Turn dough out on a lightly floured surface and knead gently 10 or 12 strokes. Pat out about 1/2 inch thick and cut into 10 rounds. Place rounds on top of fruit. Cut scraps into small diamonds and fill in the spaces between the biscuits with the smaller pieces. Bake at 425 degrees for about 25 minutes until fruit is bubbling and biscuits are golden brown. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

... Superbly balanced and sophisticated seasonings are the main event that Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins build into this peach cobbler. It demands fresh fruit.

Peach cobbler

Serves four to six.

From "Silver Palate Cookbook," by Julee Rosso and Sheil Lukins (Workman Publishing, 1982).

NTC 4 cups peeled and sliced ripe peaches

:. 2/3 cup, plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup vegetable shortening

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/4 cup milk

1 cup heavy cream, chilled

3 to 4 tablespoons peach brandy or peach cordial

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Butter a 2-quart baking dish. Arrange peaches in baking dish. Sprinkle with 2/3 cup sugar, the lemon zest and juice, and almond extract. Bake for 20 minutes.

While peaches are baking, sift flour, 1 tablespoon of remaining sugar, baking powder and salt together into a bowl. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles cornmeal. Combine beaten egg and milk and mix into dry ingredients until just combined.

Remove peaches from oven and quickly drop dough by large spoonfuls over surface. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Return to the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until top is firm and golden brown. Whip cream to soft peaks and flavor with peach brandy to taste. Serve cobbler warm, accompanied by whipped cream.

... You'll need a local store that sells large size phyllo sheets to achieve this hearty, rich and elegant dessert. If you use rum instead of Calvados, the dark type will give more pungent flavor.

Apple strudel tartlets with hard sauce

Serves two.

From "The Best of Gourmet," Volume VI (Random House Inc., 1991).

2 16-by-12-inch sheets of phyllo, stacked between sheets of wax paper and covered with a dampened kitchen towel

tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 McIntosh apples

1 tablespoon golden raisins

1 teaspoon chopped pecans

1 tablespoon firmly packed light brown sugar

HARD SAUCE:

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

4 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

1/2 teaspoon Calvados, rum or bourbon.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Lay one sheet of the phyllo on a work surface, brush it lightly with butter and cut into 8 rectangles, each about 6 by 4 inches. Arrange rectangles, overlapping them slightly, in a 1/4 -cup tartlet or muffin tin. Repeat procedure in another tin with remaining sheet of phyllo and some of the remaining butter.

Peel and core the apples, cut them lengthwise into eighths, then slice thinly crosswise. In a bowl, toss apples with remaining butter, raisins, pecans and brown sugar. Divide filling between tartlets and bake on a jellyroll pan in the lower third of the oven for 20 minutes, or until the phyllo is crisp and golden.

Make hard sauce while tartlets are baking. In a bowl, whisk together butter, confectioners' sugar and Calvados until mixture smooth. Whisk in 1/2 teaspoon hot water; then whisk the sauce until fluffy and chill.

Transfer each tartlet carefully to a plate and top, while they are still hot, with the hard sauce.