Besides just about anything chocolate, fruit cobblers are my very favorite dessert. There's just something about crusty dough and sweet fruit served steaming hot with cold vanilla ice cream. I'm a big fan of hot and cold foods served together which explains my undying love of cobbler à la mode.
No one seems to believe me when I say that my family's cobbler recipe is so extremely easy. Cross my heart and hope to die. It's so easy, a 7-year-old with a basic grasp of measuring cups could make this, if a parent was willing to operate the oven.
For this week's recipe, I used fresh fruit. Strawberries are so fresh and cheap right now, I'd be a fool to use anything else. In fact, one of the things I love most about this recipe is that frozen fruit works so well in it, which means you can enjoy most any kind of fruit cobbler, even in the wasteland of winter when fresh local fruit is nonexistent.
SUPER SIMPLE STRAWBERRY COBBLER (serves 12-16, depending on serving size)
This recipe is actually a doubled version of my family's original recipe. Take it from me, the original version is never quite enough.
2 1/2 cups strawberries, halved
1 cup sugar
2 sticks salted butter
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 cups milk*
2 teaspoons baking powder
Place strawberries in a bowl and combine with sugar stirring well. Allow strawberries and sugar to sit for at least 30 minutes until a syrup forms in the bowl.
Place butter in a large 9x12 casserole dish**. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place dish with butter in the oven while it is preheating.
Meanwhile, combine the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl: flour, milk, and baking powder. Stir well to thoroughly combine. Once oven reaches 350 degrees F, the butter will be completely melted. Remove dish from oven and pour batter evenly over the dish. Do not mix with butter.
Pour strawberries evenly over the batter in the dish. Do not mix strawberries with batter. Place dish back in the oven and cook for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the cobbler crust begins to brown slightly.
*I've used everything from skim to whole milk in this recipe and have always had success.
**I've used ceramic, glass, and metal plans and they all seem to work just fine although cooking times might differ a bit depending on the material of the dish.
Warning: Do not make this cobbler without vanilla ice cream in the freezer. It's just not the same without the ice cream. But its fragrance is so sweet and buttery, you won't be able to hold off on having a serving before a second trip to the grocery store.
But then again, an excuse to eat two servings in one night is not such a bad thing either. Anything goes in the name of taste testing, right?
If you've been strawberry-picking or landed a good deal at the farmers market and need more strawberry recipe ideas, check out my strawberry banana muffins or my strawberry shortcake.
Kelly Davis is a blogger, freelance writer, food enthusiast, and native North Carolinian. When she's not training for a race or cooking something delicious in the kitchen, she's writing, reading, snuggling her dachshund, or plotting her next project. You can keep up with Kelly's antics and recipes on her blog, Foodie Fresh.
Showing 1-9 of 9