“Drop” Everything & Make This Biscuit Berry Cobbler
Are you like me? Our farmer’s market in the summer is like a candy store and I’m the kid in it, running around and grabbing baskets of berries, peaches and whatever looks delish. The past few weeks I’ve come home with way too much fruit for the hubs and me. Thankfully, Dorie Greenspan came to my rescue with a recipe for a Drop-Biscuit Peach Blueberry Cobbler. It is so good and so easy, I have made this more times than I can count this summer.
Cobbler, Crisp, Crumble…explained
I LOVE pies…but even I have to admit, when I want an easy dessert, pies do not come to mind. Enter the 3 Cs, cobbler, crisp and crumble, easy, homey and delicious.
First, a cobbler is your choice of fruit baked with a biscuit topping. Second, a Crisp is fruit covered with a streusel topping that contains butter, flour, sugar, and oats. You can find me making Apple Crisps in the fall to chase away the summer is over blues. A crumble is the English version of a crisp and does not usually have oats in the streusel. But it can, as in this Strawberry Rhubarb Hazelnut Crumble that I adore! Finally, from Vivian Howard of A Chef’s Life, her Blueberry Cobbler with a Cornmeal-Sugar Cookie Crust is so amazing and worth the calories.
So, get thee to a Farmer’s Market now.
Dorie’s original recipe calls for peaches and blueberries. I’ve used all berries, berries plus peaches, nectarines, and mangoes-it’s all scrumptious. Berries and fruits with a lot of moisture will need cornstarch to thicken the juices. Adjust the sugar depending on the sweetness of the fruit (and to your taste of course). Add lemon juice and a bit of lemon zest, for a refreshing citrus zing.
Biscuits Until I Drop
The biscuit dough is essentially a cream biscuit and comes together in a snap, no butter to mess with!). Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl and stir in the buttermilk and heavy cream. The fat in the heavy whipping cream stands in for butter. Mix just until combined without any dry spots, try not to overmix. The dough will be wet and loose. Use a large ice cream or cookie scoop (about 2-3 T) to drop the dough onto the fruit. Leave a bit of space between dough scoops (aesthetics).
Bake until the crust is a nice golden brown and the fruit is bubbling. The biscuits will be tender, light, and cakey, the perfect foil for the delicious fruit compote underneath.
Spoon out warm, just baked wedges into bowls and top with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. It doesn’t get much better than this although my family would beg to differ. They actually like it straight out of the fridge the next morning. The biscuit has had time to absorb some of the lovely juices, the fruit has a toothier bite. It’s all good in my book. Let me know if you like this cobbler straight out of the oven or fridge!
Drop Biscuit Berry Cobbler from Dorie
Ingredients
Da Fruit- Use whatever fruit you like! You will need 6 cups of cut fruit.
- 3 pounds ripe peaches or nectarines, peeled or not, your choice. about 1 1/2 kg
- 1/4 cup sugar, or to taste 50 grams
- Freshly squeezed lemon juice, and zest of 1/2 -1 lemon Zest is optional but I love the flavor zest imparts
- 1 cup blueberries 150 grams
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch and up to 1-2 tablespoons for juicy fruit
Biscuit Top
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 204 grams
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt reg table salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup cold heavy cream 240 ml
- 1/2 cup cold buttermilk (shake well before measuring) 120 ml
- Ice cream or whipped cream for serving (optional, although in my universe this is not optional)
Instructions
- Center rack in oven and preheat it to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Butter a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate and put it on the baking sheet.
- If you want peeled peaches, cut a shallow X in the base of each peach. Blanching makes peaches very easy to peel. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Drop in the peaches a few at a time, leave for about 15 seconds, lift out and transfer to a bowl filled with very cold water and ice cubes. Leave for a couple of minutes, then drain and peel.
- Cut the peaches into bite-sized chunks or slices and toss them into the pie plate. Taste and decide how much sugar you want and then, if you’d like, add some lemon juice. Add the blueberries and then make a decision about the cornstarch: It’s only a tiny bit, but it will thicken the juices a little. If your peaches are very ripe, I’d add it. Give everything a good stir and set aside.
- To make the biscuit topping: Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl. In a measuring cup or another bowl, whisk together the cream and buttermilk. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry and, using a table fork, stir until the flour is evenly dampened and you’ve got a moist batter.
- Using a medium (1 1/2-tablespoon capacity) scoop or a tablespoon, dollop the topping over the fruit — leave a little space between each pouf of batter.
- Bake the cobbler for 45 to 55 minutes, until the topping is golden brown and the fruit juices are boiling under, and maybe up, through and over, the biscuits.
- Transfer to a rack and let cool for at least 20 minutes, or until the cobbler reaches room temperature, before serving, with or without ice cream or whipped cream.
Notes
STORING: The cobbler is best the day it is made. You can keep it covered overnight at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
