Blackberry Cobbler

I am a cobbler lover.  I simply adore the stuff.  However, as much as I love it, I've only ever made peach cobbler.  How remiss of me.

What do you think?  Does this look good to you?

How about this?

No? Doesn't do it for you?  It must be missing something.  Oh, wait, I know!!

It needed some of this!

Ahhh, there ya go.  That hits the spot.  :o)

There are a couple of schools of cobbler making. One subscribes to the cake-y topping.  Another a more biscuit-y topping.  With the cake-y topping, you make the batter and drop the berries on top.  With the biscuit-y one, you put the dough on top of the berries. 

I hemmed and hawed and looked at numerous recipes, and decided I was going to have to cobble (pardon the unintentional--and very bad--pun) together one on my own.  I knew I wanted a sort of berry compote on the bottom but a sweet, if biscuit-like crust on top. 

I began with the berries, knowing I need to macerate them to have them release their juice.  I added a 1/2 cup sugar, the zest of one lemon, and 1 T lemon juice to the berries and mixed.  Thinking about it, I decided I would need to thicken the juice somewhat and saw a recipe that called for 1 1/2 T cornstarch.  That made sense to me so I added that to my mix, tossed it all together and set it aside to let the sugar do its thing.

For the topping, I began with a biscuit-like recipe and added sugar to sweeten the dough.  You see, I wanted the sweetness of the cake-y topping but the crumbly biscuit topping to sop up all the juice. 

I started with 1 cup AP flour, 1/3 cup sugar (you can use less if you prefer less sweet crust), 1 1/2 t baking soda and 1/2 t salt.  I cut in 4 T butter, and then added 1 lightly beaten egg and 1/4 cup milk.  From there, I crumbled the topping over the berries I had poured in my pan (a 9"x9" will work well--I used an 8"x11"), and baked at 350 for about 25 minutes (bubbly juice and golden brown top).

We allowed it to cool for a bit and then topped it with a scoop of ice cream.  You have to have the ice cream. :o)

So, yes, I would say the cobbler came out well. ;o)