Page 1 of Peaches & Cream
Shelby
“That smells amazing,” my best friend, Victoria says, her nose in the air as I pull my gran’s famous peach cobbler from the oven. Generations of Dougherty women have been passing this recipe down, refining it until it got to my grandmother and became the drool-inducing dessert I’m setting on the cooling rack right now.
“Nothing beats that buttery peaches smell,” I agree, taking a whiff for myself.
“When can we eat it?” Victoria is already holding a spoon in her hand when I turn around to face her.
“You can’t eat it,” I say, laughing. “It’s my entry in the semi-finals for the state’s baking competition. The blind judging is happening tomorrow morning, and since everyone around here knows how special Gran’s cobbler is, I’m a shoo-in for the finals.”
“Nobody does Southern sweets like the Dougherty’s,” she says. “Which is why you should’ve made two of those. I don’t think I can control myself knowing that thing is sitting there.”
I give her a cheeky smile, opening the oven and pulling out a second cobbler. “How’d I guess you’d say that?” I say, setting the whole pan in front of her before collecting the pot of fresh cream and pouring it all over the top.
Her brown eyes go wide, and it takes barely a second before her spoon dives into the mix, and she’s risking the roof of her mouth by filling it with the piping hot mixture. “It’s heaven,” she moans, her eyes rolling back in her head as she alternates between chewing and blowing. “You are the best friend a girl could ever have, Shelby Dougherty. My ever-growing ass thinks you’re horrible, but my stomachlovesyou.”
“Carbs create the curves, my friend,” I say, laughing as I slap a hand against my thick thigh. “And seriously, who could ever quit peach cobbler and cream?” I grab a spoon of my own and scoop some out, double checking the flavor. I close my eyes and hum as the delicate flavor hits my tongue. It’s perfect. If I don’t win this competition, I don’t deserve to be competing on behalf of theDougherty Bakehouse,a business that’s been in my family for almost as long as this recipe has. I entered this competition because the kitchen is in desperate need of a remodel, and our wiring needs a lot of expensive work done to it to keep the place up to code. Being the winner of theGreat Southern Bake Offwill not only put us on the map, but it’ll also save our asses. I have to win. My family heritage depends on it.
