Last summer and fall, I can’t even begin to tell y’all how many requests we got for cobblers. I’m not sure if cobblers are largely a regional dessert or something, but aside from the traditional Dutch oven “cobbler” where you dump a box of cake mix, a can of fruit, and a can of Sprite into the Dutch oven and wait 30 minutes until it’s Business Time, I hadn’t eaten much cobbler. But I figure it’s full of things I like, so how could I go wrong?
Last week when we were both in Seattle with our families, we got our kids and husbands together for the very first ever Our Best Bites family barbecue. We were pretty excited that our boys became instantaneous BFFs/explorers/Jedi Knights and that our 3-year-olds spent a great deal of time talking to each other without being interrupted and corrected by their older siblings (plus, I have reason to believe that they may be betrothed).
Anyway, Sara made some amazing steaks and I brought this cobbler that I literally kind of made up as I went along at my in-laws’ house. Cream? Good. More cream? Better. Lemon zest? Why not? It was truly a kitchen experiment that went pretty darn well. It would also make an awesome Father’s Day dessert (hint hint!)
So first, preheat your oven to 350. Grease a 9×13″ pan and set aside.
For the crust, you’ll need flour, salt, baking powder, sugar,
eggs, cream, and butter. You can also add the zest of 1 lemon or orange if you want. By the way, that whole list was pretty much a list for diet disaster.
Whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and citrus zest (if using). Then take your cold butter and a cheese grater…
and grate that sucker. Look how pretty!
Gently fold the butter into the flour mixture so it is light and crumbly.
Crack open two eggs…
and give them a whisk. Add them to the flour/butter mixture and stir until just combined. Then add the cream and mix everything together until you form a wet dough.
Lightly press about 1 1/2 c. of the dough into the bottom of the pan and set it aside.
Now, take about 4 cups of berries. I used a triple berry mix 
and while it was good, I think next time I’ll stick to either blueberries, blackberries, or a combination of both. But this mix had raspberries in it and I’m not crazy about raspberries in baked goods (I’m a freak, I know).
Toss the berries with 1/2 c. brown sugar…
and spread the berries over the “crust.” Drop the remaining dough over the berries and set aside.
Now…I’m using the streusel topping from our blueberry muffins, so if you like that, than I’m willing to bet my cat you’ll like it here, too!
Mix together 1/2 c. sugar, 1/4 c. + 1 Tbsp. flour, and 1 tsp. cinnamon. Cut in 3 Tbsp. of butter (or hey, if you’re on a grating kick, you could measure out 3 Tbsp. of butter and then grate that, too!) until the mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle it over the dough-topped berries
and then pop the whole pan into the oven. Bake it for 45-55 minutes or until the topping is golden brown and the dough is cooked through.
Serve warm with sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
Berry Cobbler
Recipe by Our Best Bites
3 c. all-purpose flour, lightly spooned into the measuring cup and leveled with a knife
1/4 tsp. table salt
2 1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
1 1/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. (1 stick) salted butter
2 eggs
1 c. heavy cream
zest of one lemon or orange (optional)
4 c. berries (I like blueberries and/or blackberries)
1/2 c. brown sugar
Streusel Topping:
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. + 1 Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
4 Tbsp. butter at room temperature
Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 9×13″ baking dish and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, sugar, and citrus zest. Set aside.
Using a cheese grater, grate 1 cold stick of butter. Lightly toss the butter with flour mixture until it’s mixed evenly and crumbly (don’t over-mix here). Whisk the eggs and then lightly toss them with the flour/butter mixture until evenly absorbed. Add in the cream and mix until combined; the mixture should be quite sticky and a little lumpy (kind of like biscuit dough). Lightly press about 1 1/2 c. of the dough mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan and set it aside.
Toss the berries with the brown sugar and spread it over the prepared “crust.” Drop the remaining dough over the berries and set aside.
Whisk together the sugar, flour, and cinnamon for the struesel topping. Cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over the dough and bake for 45-55 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the crust is cooked through. Serve warm with sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
I loved this so much I want to make it for my family on vacation. Any tips for high altitude baking? Thanks for a delicious recipe!
Usually cobblers are okay when it comes to high altitudes–you might need to slightly adjust the flour, but I think you will be okay. It’s mostly cakes, cookies, and whole grains that really struggle.
I’m curious, the recipe for this dessert in your cookbook uses half of the dry ingredients and doesn’t put a layer of the pastry on the bottom. Any particular reason? Do you like it better with it only on the top?
I have made this recipe several times. My family loves it. I would consider it more of a coffee cake than a true southern cobbler. I am making this again this year for Mothers’ Day brunch. I use all blackberries and serve it warm. The family loves it.
Another big hit at my house from ourbestbites. My kid’s first cobbler & they absolutely loved it warm with vanilla ice cream (after slightly cooling off for 10 minutes).
Made this tonight with frozen blackberries and raspberries. I’m an awful baker, and this turned out fantastic. Loved it! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Just made this yesterday with 2 cups marionberries and 2 cups boysenberries… that I picked the day before. And brought it to a dinner and it was a huge hit! I wasn’t sure how it would turn out with those berries, but it was delicious! Thanks for all the amazing recipes!!
Is it really 2 1/2 Tablespoons of baking powder? That seemed way too much so I used teaspons instead. It’s in the oven now, will see.
Can I use whole milk instead of cream in the dough? Just found this recipe and hate to make a run to the store.
This was delicious with fresh peaches but next time I make it I will leave off the streusel topping and cut the cobbler topping in half. . . .I was looking for more fruit in every bite. It was still all gone after 2 days so I know I will be making it again soon. I love how easy it is to adapt your recipes to make them work for me!
my 11year old daughter picked this recipe for some fresh peaches from the farmers market last week and it was absolutely FABULOUS!!!! and we arent even peach fans. tomorrow we are remaking with apples for dads day, cuz the dh doesnt like berries. crust and crumb topping together are so perfect!
Made this today for Mother’s Day. It was a complete hit! I love that it has a bottom crust to soak up all of the berry juices. The streusel topping makes this to die for!
Also, I live in Louisiana too 🙂
This is in the oven baking right now for Easter. I used peaches and raspberries. The smell alone is incredible, so I know it will taste amazing! First time using one of your recipes… definitely will not be my last. Enjoy the holiday with your family
This recipe looks divine!! I plan on making this tomorrow but prefer to do it in a crockpot. I believe and tell me if I am wrong to cook it at 3-4 hours on high?
I honestly have no idea–I’ve never made it in the crockpot before.
Is that really supposed to be 2.5 TABLESPOONS of baking powder?
It really is.
So I made this cobbler over the weekend (and am eating some leftovers as we speak) for family I had in town. The flavors turned out wonderful, everyone loved it, and I will definitely make it again. However, the crust was a bit gooey after baking it for the maximum amount of time (and the top had already turned golden). Is it important to thaw the berries before tossing them with the brown sugar and putting them in the cobbler? I was also a bit over zealous and put more than 4 cups of berries in because it didn’t look like quite enough. That extra bit (ok alot) of frozen berries may have kept the batter from getting hot enough to bake, too. Any thoughts? Thanks!