Name: Fruit Cobbler with Batter Topping
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Ingredients: 6 tablespoons unsalted butter; 3/4 cup all-purpose flour; 3/4 cup sugar , plus 1 tablespoon; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1/4 teaspoon table salt; 3/4 cup milk; 2 cups fruit or berries, sliced (not sweetened or thickened)

Why This Recipe Works

We wanted a cobbler recipe with a contrast of crisp topping and tender fruit. The key to this cobbler recipe was to not mix the butter into the batter—without mixing, the butter surfaces to form a thin, crisp top.

Before You Begin

After testing a number of fruit cobblers, we found this recipe, adapted from New Southern Cooking (Knopf, 1986), to be one of the best in its category. Many of the batter cobblers reminded us too much of cake, quick bread, or custard, Unlike the others, this one had a real cobbler feel to it.

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Put butter in 8-inch square or 9-inch round pan; set in oven to melt.

Whisk flour, 3/4 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt in small bowl. Add milk; whisk until just incorporated into dry ingredients. When butter has melted, remove pan from oven. Pour batter into pan, without stirring it into butter, then arrange fruit over batter. Sprinkle with remaining tablespoon sugar. Bake until batter browns, about 40 to 50 minutes.