Blackberry Cobbler (or One Cup Cobbler)

This is a really quick and easy dessert, and it quickly becomes nearly everyone’s favorite.  
You will get repeated requests for this dessert! 

A berry cobbler is a very homey comfort food. It's a dessert that’s not really fancy but gets the same reaction every time:  Dessert Heaven!

Blackberry is our favorite berry to use but just about any fruit works well.  Our next favorite fruits to use are peach and cherry.  

The great thing about this dessert is it can be made when berries are fresh and in season, or use frozen fruit in the middle of winter. It's great either way.

What is a Cobbler?

I am not a stickler, but I actually do know the difference between a cobbler and a crisp. And there are those who despise the use of the word cobbler for anything other than…….. well cobbler.  So here is a “definition” I came across on the inter-tubes:

A cobbler is a dessert consisting of sugared (and often spiced) fruit topped with a sweetened cake or biscuit-like topping and baked until the fruit is tender and the topping is golden. The bottom part of the topping sinks a little into the fruit and sops up its flavorful juices, acquiring a dumpling-like texture; the top part undergoes a reaction and gets brown and firm; while the middle part arranges itself into a light, spongy crumb.

Gently wash the berries

History of Cobblers:
I also found this little piece of interesting information about cobblers and how they got started. Seems pies have been around for hundreds of years across the big pond (England), but once here in America the colonists did it a little different.

Photo from our trip to Plimoth Plantation, Plymouth, Massachusetts

From the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Volume 2:
"Without the resources of brick ovens...colonial cooks often made cobblers -- also called slumps or grunts -- and their cousins, pandowdies, in pots over an open fire,"..........
"In these types of pies, a filling made of fruit, meat, or vegetable goes into a pot first; then a skin of dough is placed over the filling, followed by the pot's lid. As cobblers cook, the filling stews and creates its own sauce and gravy, while the pastry puffs up and dries."

So it seems that Cobblers, not pies are the true American dessert! And besides, I just love the idea of the first American settlers cooking cobbler in a Dutch oven over an open campfire and that the recipe has barely changed since then.

Mix together the flour and sugar, then add milk

Blackberry Cobbler

(Also known as One Cup Cobbler)

PRINT RECIPE 

Ingredients:

1 cup Sugar

1 cup Self-Rising Flour (I use King Arthur brand)

1 cup Milk

1 stick real Butter

1 to 2 cups Blackberries (frozen or fresh) or other fruit

¼ cup sugar for topping

 

Add the melted butter

Mixing It Up:

Mix together 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup flour into a mixing bowl, Whisk in 1 cup milk. (that's where the original name comes from One Cup Cobbler!) Mix well.

Melt butter in a microwave in a safe container.  It melts easier if you cube it first. Pour melted butter into flour /sugar mixture and whisk until mixed together.

Pour the batter into a buttered baking dish.

Pour batter into a buttered baking dish

Gently rinse and then pat dry the blackberries.  Freshly picked blackberries seem to be larger than store purchased so I use less of them, (1 to 1 ½ cup) but you can use as many berries as will cover the top of the batter pretty well.  Don’t be afraid to use more, fruit is good for us.

Sprinkle or neatly arrange the blackberries over the top of the batter; distributing evenly. Do not push them down into the batter.  They will work their magic all by themselves!

Sprinkle ¼ cup sugar over the top.

Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until golden brown and bubbly around the edges. 

If desired, sprinkle top with additional sugar 10 minutes before cobbler is done baking.

Serve warm by itself or with a big dollop of vanilla ice cream.

 

PRINT RECIPE 

Tips and Suggestions:

• You must use self-rising flour (not regular) or it will not turn out right.
• This dessert can be made with peaches, cherries, raspberries, or other fruit!!
• Of course fresh is best, but if nothing else on hand, use canned pie filling.
• Add a ½ teaspoon of vanilla to this recipe, if desired
• If using apples, add apple pie seasonings.
• I add a little almond extract if using cherries.
• If using blueberries, add a little lemon juice, if desired.
• This recipe can be doubled.

 I'm starting a batch of Sweet Pickle Relish this week and since I have cucumbers, I think I'll also mix up a tomato and cucumber salad.  

Elizabeth

Other Posts:

Blueberry Lemon Jam

Summer Tomato and Cream Cheese Sandwich

Warm and delicious!