Berry Cobbler

 

I found this cobbler recipe on Orangette, but it’s adapted from the cookbook Chez Panisse Dessert. I looked through my previous recipes and it really looks like I hadn’t made it yet, so I decided to get on that! My kids say that they both like ripe blackberries, but the fresh ones from the grocery store are hit-or-miss, so I bought frozen blackberries for this cobbler; I also threw in frozen blueberries. The original recipe called for a mix of boysenberries, blueberries, and raspberries, and that sounds good too! The only “berry” that I wouldn’t use here is strawberries, because the texture would get weird. (Unless, perhaps, you had some of those tiny wild strawberries, but then wouldn’t you rather eat them fresh?) I think this was a great cobbler, but perhaps it's not my family’s favorite dessert. 

For the fruit 

4 ½ cups berries of your choice, fresh or frozen 

1/3 cup sugar 

1 to 1 ½ Tbsp. all-purpose flour 

For the cobbler dough 

1½ cups all-purpose flour 

3/8 tsp. table salt 

1½ Tbsp. sugar 

2¼ tsp. baking powder 

6 Tbsp. cold lactose-free butter 

¾ cup lactose-free cream 

Preheat the oven to 375 °F. 

Toss the berries with the sugar and flour. Use the larger amount of flour if the berries are very juicy (I used the larger amount to account for water that would be released as they thawed). Set aside. 

In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients for the cobbler dough. Using your fingers or a pastry blender, cut in the butter until the mixture looks like coarse cornmeal (I always use the food processor for this). Add the cream and mix lightly, until the dry ingredients are just moistened (for that, I can switch to a bowl and a wooden spoon). 

Put the berry mixture into a 1½-quart baking dish (mine was 2 quarts). Scoop up lumps of dough and form into rough patties, 2 to 2½ inches in diameter and about ½ inch thick. If you find the dough too sticky, just moisten your hands with water. Arrange the dough patties on top of the berries. 

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes (use the longer time if your berries were frozen), or until the topping is set and lightly browned and the berry juices bubble thickly around the edges of the dish. 

Serve warm, with lactose-free cream to pour over if you wish, or at room temperature. The Engineer prefers his cobbler cold, and it may in fact be a good idea to refrigerate this dish if it’ll last more than a day, even if the texture of the topping changes a bit. You can always rewarm it before serving if that is your preference.