Nearly every summer for as long as I can remember, my family has packed up the car and headed south to the Florida panhandle, where we spend a lazy lovely week lounging on sugar white beaches, reading mystery novels, and gazing at the turquoise waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

When we were kids, my sister and I could not wait to jump out of the hot car and run headlong into the water -- a joyous summer baptism my own kids mimic today. But almost as thrilling was the annual stop, just over the Mississippi-Alabama line, at one of the many roadside fruit stands boasting a plentiful supply of Chilton County peaches. We ate boiled peanuts while Mama shopped for lady peas and tomatoes, but the main attraction was always the peaches. We knew the magic that Mama would work with them when she rolled up her sleeves to fix her famous peach cobbler.

I always associate the taste of salty short Crisco crust with the smell of sea air, but I'm happy to say that this cobbler tastes equally divine when served at a New York dinner party, or at a country picnic, or on any occasion when summer fruit is in abundance. My sister and I prefer the peach version of Mama's recipe, but Julia gave Mama the ultimate compliment a few years ago when she included the blackberry version in Julia Reed's South. Julia and I recently served it at a lunch in my Nashville kitchen with vanilla ice cream in our Reed Smythe & Company Glass Tumblers, which turn out to make very pretty cobbler dishes.

Chilton County Peach Cobbler served in Reed Smythe Glass Tumblers

Mary Mack's Chilton County Peach Cobbler

For the crust:

2 1/2 cups Flour

1 tsp Salt

1 cup Crisco shortening

1/4 cup ice water

For the filling:

3 pounds ripe Chilton County, Alabama Peaches (GA and SC are good too) peeled, pitted, and sliced

2 cups of sugar

2 tsp of cinnamon

4 tbsp of butter

2 tsp of vanilla

1 tbsp of flour

4 tbsp of fresh lemon juice

Directions