A cobbler for Labor Day

Peaches and blackberries. Didn't take a picture fast enough...

I have made this cobbler at least four or five times already this summer. Until this summer, I would not have described myself as a cobbler-baking type of person, really. Apple crisp, apple crostata, berry crumble - yes, enthusiastically yes. But traditional cobbler just seemed too much work for a casual summer dessert. You have some berries, maybe a couple of kinds, but not so many that you can make a pie (never mind the fact that it is far too hot and humid to be rolling out pie crust) and you need something to do with them. This, friends, this is it. 

My friend Mina first recommended it to me back in May or June, when I invited her to bring her kids along with Malcolm and I to pick berries. They couldn't come, but she said I needed to make this recipe. That it was so simple and so good. And she was right. I have made it with blueberries and blackberries and raspberries, peaches and blueberries, and yesterday, with blackberries and peaches. I bet it would be good with plums, or strawberries and raspberries. And Malcolm loves to help make it, because it is so simple. He mixes the batter as I add ingredients, and helps sprinkle the berries on top. 

It is a Pioneer Woman recipe, and here is the original, Blackberry Cobbler #1. I made a couple of changes, but nothing too drastic. I hope you have time to give it a try this Labor Day weekend!

Blackberry Cobbler #1 (with adaptations by Hope)

Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter

1 cup sugar + 1/4 cup for sprinkling on top (I only use 1 TBSP)

1 cup self-rising flour or 1 cup all purpose flour + 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1 tsp salt

1 cup milk

2 cups blackberries or a mix of berries and stone fruits

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter a baking dish (the original recipe doesn't specify a size; I use a Pyrex pie plate).

Melt butter. Combine 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup flour in a medium mixing bowl. Whisk in the milk and mix well. Pour in the melted butter and whisk until smooth.

Pour the batter into the baking dish. Sprinkle the fruit evenly over the top. Sprinkle the entire thing with 1 Tbps sugar (or more, if you want it really sweet).

Bake for 1 hour, until golden and bubbly. (The original suggests adding another tsp of sugar over the top 10 minutes before it is finished. I have never done this; it is sweet enough as is for me.) Let cool a bit, then serve. Top with ice cream or whipped cream, if you like (yes!).