Blackberry Cobbler

I was nervous that our blackberries from Garson's wouldn't last and I didn't want to waste a single one so I decided to make a Blackberry Cobbler.  When it comes to fruit desserts I usually make crisps so this was a new direction for me.

But wow - I think I found my new favorite berry dessert.  Making a cobbler couldn't be easier - the prep work is minimal and the berries are cooked and then baked in a single cast iron skillet. Yup, doing it old school.

Unfortunately the skillet I used was a bit too big so I ended up with an archipelago of topping rather than a blanket, but it didn't seem to hurt the taste at all.  Like a perfect southern biscuit, the outside of the topping was a bit crunchy and the inside, hot and soft.

Below is the recipe from Chinese Grandma blog (one of my favorites).  The blog has lots of step by step pictures which I would recommend checking out if you're thinking about trying the recipe.  The topping seems very versatile so you could pop it on just about any fruit you like.  This recipe is a definitely a keeper.

Blackberry cobbler (from Chinese Grandma)
The genius of this recipe is putting the cobbler dough on already-hot fruit topping – so the cobbler dough cooks from below as well as above and turns out light and crumbly instead of heavy and doughy.

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup boiling water
• 4 cups blackberries
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch dissovled in 1/4 cup cold water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
2. In a large bowl, mix the flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt.
3. Cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
4. Stir in 1/4 cup boiling water just until mixture is evenly moist.
5. Dissolve the cornstarch in cold water.
6. Put blackberries, 1 cup sugar and lemon juice in a 10in cast iron skillet. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
7. Add cornstarch water and cook briefly until mixture turns from milky to glossy.
8. Drop dough into the skillet by spoonfuls. Place skillet on the foil lined baking sheet (this will catch the juice bubbling over during cooking and save you some tough oven cleaning).
9. Bake 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until dough is golden brown.

Note

• You can of course make this recipe in a regular baking dish (for example a 2-qt 11x7 rectangular pyrex would fit nicely). Just cook the blackberries in a pan on the stovetop as directed, and transfer the hot blackberries to the baking dish before scooping the topping over. Be sure to place the pan on a foil-lined baking sheet for easy clean up.