Cherry Peach Brown Betty

Alexis has been off vacationing with her best friend for approximately FOREVER, but will be returning home in something like 28 hours. HOORAY! I've missed having a built-in babysitter. The "baby" has missed having her around even more, though. Said "baby" is talking nonstop about how sissy will soon by home, to the point that she's making sure to cover up her tracks where she's touched things she isn't supposed to touch. She's also kissing up just in case Alexis does figure out that Mila spent over an hour digging through the books in the big kid's room...

She's going to notice.

No matter, Mila made Cherry Peach Brown Betty to make it up to Alexis. It will probably work. Sort of.

I've been trying for a while to nail down the difference between cobbler, crisp, and brown betty. The third one is the biggest mystery because I think there may be regional differences. Cobbler seems to consistently be fruit covered with an almost biscuit-like dough. Crisp is an oatmeal topping. Brown betty, though. I'm not going to say that I'm sure. The version that I'm most familiar with has chunks of bread mixed in with the fruit, so that's the version I'm going with. Feel free to disagree about what it is, though. It's fine. I get it.

Cherry Peach Brown Betty

3-4 medium peaches, peeled and sliced
1 cup cherries, pitted and halved
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup sugar

2-3 slices Italian bread, torn into 1" chunks (It can be stale. It's better that way, actually.)
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, diced
1/4 cup pecan pieces

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Spray a 10x10" baking dish with non-stick spray and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the peaches, cherries, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugar. Stir gently with a rubber spatula until the peaches are well coated with the spices.

3. In a separate bowl, combine the milk and vanilla. Then add the bread and stir well.

4. Add the bread mixture to the fruit and stir some more.

5. In another bowl (Sorry, this is a multiple bowl recipe. It just is.), whisk together the flour and brown sugar. Add the butter and smoosh it with your hands until the flour gets chunky. Be careful not to work it so much that the butter starts to melt. Add the pecans and stir a little more.

6. Dump the fruit and bread into your prepared baking dish. Smooth and then top with the butter/flour/pecan mix.

7. Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until the top turns a lovely golden brown.

8. Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving. If you're a nice person, top with ice cream or whip cream.