Bond with your oven over cobbler

This past Sunday, I had this impulse to swallow an entire peach cobbler whole. I sped to the grocery store like it was a Kate Spade sample sale, 100% off. I had to have it. And pronto. Elderly women, small children and free cheese samples weren’t going to get in my way of that cobbler.

Sadly, peaches aren’t quite in season so I opted for blueberries and raspberries. It’s the same concept though. Fruit intertwined with lumps of crispy, sugary batter topped off with cold creamy, vanilla ice cream. Like a free designer handbag. No strings attached. Golden.

Plus, I was even able to use Paula Deen’s recipe used previously. Despite the loads of butter and fat involved, you really can’t go wrong. Hair-do and accent aside, that woman knows how to bake. The trick to knowing your cobbler is finished is when the fruit is bubbling through the crust. The crust should be slightly brown.

The other trick is bonding with your oven. Reading her stories at night. Coddling her during the horrendously smelly self-cleaning process. Patting her on the back for a job “well done.” When I baked the first peach cobbler at the family compound, it took almost 2 hours. My oven (yes, MINE) baked this puppy up in nearly 35 minutes, no fits of rage involved. She deserves a martini.

Hope you can incorporate this into your spring/summer repertoire.

Blueberry Raspberry Cobbler

Adapted from: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/peach-cobbler-recipe/index.html

Notes: I cut the original recipe in half.

• 1 cup of fresh blueberries
• 1 cup of fresh raspberries
• 1 cup sugar, divided
• 1/4 cup water
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 3/4 cups milk
• Ground cinnamon, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the berries, 1/2 cup sugar, and water in a saucepan and mix well. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Put the butter in a shallow baking dish and place in oven to melt.

Mix remaining 1/2 cup sugar, flour, baking powder, salt and milk slowly to prevent clumping.

Pour mixture over melted butter. Do not stir. Spoon fruit on top, gently pouring in syrup. Sprinkle top with ground cinnamon, if using.

Batter will rise to top during baking. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes. Take a photo of your new puppy while it bakes.

To serve, scoop into a bowl and serve with vanilla ice cream. Rest assured, it wasn’t as soupy as it looks.

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