Cobbler

The Great Cobbler Debate: Blackberry Cobbler #2. (Vanilla Ice Cream Required)

The Cast of Characters: Flour, Sugar, Milk, Egg, Butter, Shortening, Salt, Baking Powder, Lemon, and Blackberries. How hard is that?

First, place six cups of blackberries into a mixing bowl. These are fresh, but you can certainly use frozen. I'm here to make it easy on you, folks.

Add 1/2 cup sugar.

Now cut a lemon in half.

Squeeze 1 tablespoon of lemon juice...

And add it to the bowl.

Have you picked up a Microplane zester/grater yet? You must. It'll change the entire course of your life.

Just run it over the surface of half a lemon to remove the zest. (I would have used the same one I juiced earlier, but I forgot and threw it in the trash. Don't be like me.)

Throw the zest into the bowl.

Now stir mixture together...

And set aside. But first, remove three of the berries and place them into your mouth. Chew. Swallow. Enjoy. Repeat four times.

Now measure 2 cups of flour...

And dump it into a separate mixing bowl.

Now for the salt...

Go ahead and add about 1/4 teaspoon. Sometimes I like to measure it in my hand because it makes me feel cool, and because I like to pretend I know what I'm doing. And see that scar at the bottom of my index finger? I almost severed my finger in high school and I got grounded because of my shenanigans.

The wound is still fresh.

Now measure 1 tablespoon of baking powder.

And dump it in the bowl.

More sugar now: add 1 tablespoon.

Now for the very non-fat Crisco (vegetable shortening).

ALSO: Add 4 tablespoons butter. (I used unsalted, but I don't think that's utterly important.)

Plop 1/4 cup into the bowl with the flour.

This is a pastry cutter. Mine is bent because my boys use it to fight bad guys.

With a pastry cutter OR two knives OR your fingers, even, begin to work the butter and shortening into the flour. Or is it, work the flour into the butter and shortening? I suppose it depends on your upbringing or what, if any, mood disorders you may have.

Keep working it around until it's well combined. This can take several minutes.

Keep going until the mixture is coarse, like this.

Now take 1/2 cup milk.

Add 1 egg.

Stir together well.

Now pour this into the flour mixture...

Stirring to combine. If mixture seems overly dry, you can splash in a little milk.

Now butter a baking dish and pour the berries in.

Even the berries out on top...

Then begin to place clumps of dough all over the top of the fruit.

Remember, what you're going for here is the look of a cobblestone street. Get it?

Keep going until all the fruit is covered...

Then slightly flatten the dough with your fingers, but only slightly.

Sprinkle the top of the dough generously with sugar. I used about 3 teaspoons.

Now bake in a 425-degree oven for 30 minutes.

The top should be golden, but not overly brown or dry-looking.

Mmmmm. See how the juice from the berries made its way into the biscuity topping?

Suddenly I'm hungry for blackberry cobbler. I can't figure out why.

To serve, stick a big spoon in...

And place in a bowl. The berry juice will be slightly thin, but don’t be afraid. It will gradually soak into the biscuity topping and make your life complete.

And now for the terms: You must...must...MUST eat this cobbler with vanilla ice cream. I could give you all kinds of scientific and culinary explanations of how the creamy sweetness of the ice cream balances the mildness of the biscuity topping and combines with the juice of the blueberries to make a unique sauce, but you're just going to have to take my word for it.

I repeat: Vanilla ice cream must be served with this cobbler.