Blackberry Cobbler

2 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

1 Tbsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 cup butter flavored Crisco

1/2 cup milk

1 egg, slightly beaten

2 1/2 cups blackberries

1 Tbsp. tapioca (granulated)

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Dash nutmeg (1/8 tsp.)

1 Tbsp. butter

Place fresh blackberries in a large bowl. Sprinkle with tapioca and let stand at room temperature for 10-15 minutes. Add sugar, salt and spice. Mix well.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt, sugar, baking powder and baking soda. Cut in Crisco. Add milk and egg and stir until dough comes together. Don’t over-stir.

Divide the dough mixture in half. Place half on bottom of 13×9-inch baking dish by scooping out well rounded tablespoons of dough and flattening it to cover bottom.

Add blackberry mixture on top of cobbler dough. Dot with butter.

Use remaining dough to top cobbler by scooping out well rounded tablespoons and flatten with hands. Place on top of blackberries. Dust dough with additional sugar.

Bake for 20 minutes or until dough is golden brown. Serve warm or cold with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Blackberry Cobbler

I love summertime! Fresh fruit is now abundant. The color palette in the produce market has become vibrant with the fresh peaches, plums, berries, cherries, melons and exotic fruits. 

The farmer’s markets have come alive once again as the eager chefs arrive early to single out the choice ingredients that will become their daily specials. On weekends, the families and tourists navigate their way through the sea of visitors, each taking care to sample the offerings of the vendors. There is a sense of fullness, a spirit of plenty; there is a time for every season, and this is summertime in all her glory and abundance.

Upon my recent visit to my local farmer’s market, I happened upon a berry farmer at the far end of the lot. “Come,” he beckoned, “Taste the finest blackberries in this state,” he exclaimed with his broken accent.

The confidence in his voice and his jovial demeanor drew me close to his blackberry stand. “Taste, taste, you see!” he beamed.

His blackberries were amazing. As large as grape tomatoes, dark, firm and juicy, his blackberries were destined to be the sweet star ingredient in my test kitchen today. One by one, I selected the quarts of blackberries that were to become my favorite summertime recipes.

Like a child carrying home a new toy, I beamed with excitement and carted off as many quarts of blackberries as my two arms could support. Eager to get back to the test kitchen, my mind was racing with possibilities; blackberry jam, blackberry cake, blackberry barbeque sauce, no, it had to be blackberry cobbler!

A cobbler is a deep-dish dessert very similiar to a pie. Unlike a pie that has a pastry crust on the bottom and sometimes the top of the pie, a cobbler has a drop biscuit-like topping that resembles the cobblestone  streets of England and early America, thus the name, cobbler.

Cobblers in England were savory rather than sweet. Often with meat, they would serve them for any meal. The colonist brought their favorite dishes with them to America, but not finding the ingredients for their cobblers, they settled on whatever this new land would provide, which was often wild berries and fruits.

Since I have found these luscious berries, today our test kitchen will be making blackberry cobblers. They are quite easy to prepare, as there is no rolling out the dough, no fitting to pan size, no fussing over crusts.

Try making a cobbler today for your family. I’m sure it will become a summertime favorite. For our test kitchen’s favorite blackberry recipes, simply type in “blackberry” in the search box.

And this weekend, take your family to the farmer’s market. It’s American culture at it’s best.