My BFF down in Florida was mentioning blackberry cobbler a lot, at least three times last week, so when I spotted fresh blackberries at my local market yesterday, I knew we had to have our own cobbler, up here, and soon! These were large beautiful blackberries just made for cobbler or blackberry pie and they did not disappoint. The photos above took as long to fuss with as the actual cobbler prep work did. 35 minutes and its in the oven! The larger photo is as served out of mama’s room tonight at Woodland Hills. I have to say, “the cobbler thing” was a pleasure, from start to finish!
Do cook your blackberries to thicken, then cool the filling off the stove before adding the topping; cook it just long enough for the juices to coat a wooden spoon; 5 minutes. The sugar, berries, and the whiff of cinnamon take a minute to boil, as the sugar must melt first. The cornstarch-water mixture thickens the sauce perfectly. Taste it as it cools because you might want a little more cinnamon. The biscuity topping is a terrific complement to the berry filling. I like to drop it willy-nilly over my berries as that makes for easy serving. It does taste like abiscuit, browned on top with a cake-like texture, perfect for soaking up the ample juices from the berries. Fresh blackberries, are, of course, a given for this recipe. These berries were from my local market; youknow, the only “real” grocery store in town; they were beautiful to look at, big as large Bing cherries, and they held their shape nicely too, once cooked.
If you have 60 minutes total, and 3 cups of blackberries, you are in business my friend! Half of that time is the cobbler baking and you cleaning up the kitchen quickly, right? Start to finish, there was nothing more pleasant to be doing with that hour, and the results were amazing! Ahhh, the many flavors of Spring! Dig Right In!
Blackberry Cobbler
Ingredients for berries
3 cups fresh or frozen blackberries
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
3 T. cornstarch
1 cup cold water
1 T. butter
Biscuit Topping
1-1/2 cups flour
1 T. sugar
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 stick cold butter, cubed
1/2 cup milk
Directions In a large saucepan, combine the blackberries, sugar and cinnamon. Cook and stir until mixture comes to a boil. Combine cornstarch and water until smooth; stir into fruit mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Pour into a greased 8-in. square baking dish. Dot with butter.
For topping, in a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in milk just until moistened. Drop by tablespoons onto hot berry mixture.
Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until filling is bubbly and topping is golden brown. Serve warm with whipped topping or ice cream. Yield: 9 servings.