Berry Cobbler ...

We're on the cusp of blueberry season here in the Northeast and coming to the tail end of strawberry season, which means I am tempted by all the berry desserts, smoothies, kabobs, shortcakes, and cobblers making the rounds of the blogsphere.

Last evening, I used the last of the frozen blueberries from last summer's picking parties. Added to the last of the fresh strawberries, I made us a quick and light-as-air cobbler. Warm from the oven with a dollop of vanilla ice cream, we saluted the red white and blue with our spoons and dug in ... SB had seconds, but I was more restrained, saying that cobbler would make a wonderful breakfast ... which shows you that my restraint only goes so far.

Anyway, I hope you all are having fun making your weekend plans ... our Fourth of July will be full of picnics and fireworks, cold drinks and cool water for swimming. It's supposed to be in the 90's for the next week or so ... too hot to make huge meals. We'll be picking at cool salads and quick grilled  meats, easy small plates and tapas ... oh, and ice cream. AND we'll be hoping the weather cools off a bit before it's time to go blueberry picking in mid-July!

When it gets hot like this, I go into slow motion. I begin planning ways to get the housework done really early in the mornings while the air is somewhat cool, look for a small lake with a bit of sandy shore front to plunk down a chair and blanket and pull out my summer reading. There's usually a small cooler with some cold fruit, a few cold drinks, some cheese and perhaps cold sausage. A sack with crackers or small rolls rounds out the provisions. I can while away a few hours through the heat of the day, just lounging in the shade while everyone at home naps away.  My modus operandi ... what's yours?

This recipe was found on Cooks.com website ... it's a keeper recipe. The only adaptation that I made was to substitute butttermilk for whole milk and I decreased the water measure to a scant cup ... I'm convinced buttermilk makes for a better cake crumb and the berries were really juicy so I was concerned that too much water would make for a soggy cobbler ... and that  wouldn't do!

A Rorschach of sweet berries ... what do you see?

Berry Cobbler

Preheat oven : 350° F

Bake time: 1 hour or until cake topping is golden and puffed

Ingredients:

2c. cake flour

1 ¼ c. sugar

2 ½ tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

⅓ c. shortening

1 c. cold buttermilk

1 ½ tsp. vanilla  extract

1 egg

4 c. berries, strawberry and blueberry combination

¼ c. sugar

1 scant cup boiling water

Making the Cobbler:

1. Measure the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.
2. In another bowl, mix the berries and the ¼ c. sugar, toss together and set aside.
3. Boil the water and measure out the cup.
4. Add the shortening and ½ c. of buttermilk to the dry ingredients and beat on a medium setting for a couple minutes.
5. Add the egg and the rest of the buttermilk to the batter and beat another 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl and making a smooth batter.
6. Grease a 13 x 9 inch glass pan. Pour the batter into the pan, spread the berries and sugar over top.
7. Drizzle the boiling water over the top of the berries and bake the cobber for one hour or until the cake is puffed and golden.
8. Remove and cool the cobbler until it is warm.
9. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream atop a generous scoop of cobber. 

Serves eight to ten hungry folk