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Blueberry Cobbler

By Erin McMurrer

Published on August 25, 2013

Time

1¼ hours, plus 20 minutes cooling

Yield

Serves 6 to 8

Blueberry Cobbler

Ingredients

Filling

½ cup granulated sugar (3 ½ ounces/99 grams)1 tablespoon cornstarch pinch ground cinnamon pinch table salt 6 cups fresh blueberries (30 ounces/850 grams), picked over1 ½ teaspoons grated lemon zest 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Biscuit Topping

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (5 ounces/142 grams)2 tablespoons cornmeal, stone-ground¼ cup granulated sugar, plus 2 teaspoons for sprinkling2 teaspoons baking powder ¼ teaspoon baking soda ¼ teaspoon table salt 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (½ stick), melted⅓ cup buttermilk ½ teaspoon vanilla extract ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Before You Begin

While the blueberries are baking, prepare the ingredients for the biscuit topping, but do not stir the wet into the dry ingredients until just before the berries come out of the oven. A standard or deep-dish 9-inch pie pan works well; an 8-inch-square baking dish can also be used. Vanilla ice cream or lightly sweetened whipped cream is the perfect accompaniment. To reheat leftovers, put the cobbler in a 350-degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until heated through.

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. for the filling

  3. Stir sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt together in large bowl. Add berries and mix gently with rubber spatula until evenly coated; add lemon zest and juice and mix to combine. Transfer berry mixture to 9-inch glass pie pan, place pie pan on rimmed baking sheet, and bake until filling is hot and bubbling around edges, about 25 minutes.
  4. for the biscuit topping

  5. Whisk flour, cornmeal, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl to combine. Whisk melted butter, buttermilk, and vanilla in small bowl. Mix remaining 2 teaspoons sugar and cinnamon in second small bowl and set aside. One minute before berries come out of the oven, add wet ingredients to dry ingredients; stir with rubber spatula until just combined and no dry pockets remain.
  6. to assemble and bake cobbler

  7. Remove berries from oven; increase oven temperature to 425 degrees. Pinch off 8 equal-sized pieces biscuit dough and place on hot berry filling, spacing them at least 1/2 inch apart (they should not touch). Sprinkle each mound of dough with cinnamon-sugar. Bake until filling is bubbling and biscuits are golden brown on top and cooked through, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool cobbler on wire rack 20 minutes and serve.
Blueberry Cobbler

Blueberry Cobbler

Save

Time

1¼ hours, plus 20 minutes cooling

Yield

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

Filling

½ cup granulated sugar (3 ½ ounces/99 grams)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
pinch ground cinnamon
pinch table salt
6 cups fresh blueberries (30 ounces/850 grams), picked over
1 ½ teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Biscuit Topping

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (5 ounces/142 grams)
2 tablespoons cornmeal, stone-ground
¼ cup granulated sugar, plus 2 teaspoons for sprinkling
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon table salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (½ stick), melted
⅓ cup buttermilk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

Filling

½ cup granulated sugar (3 ½ ounces/99 grams)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
pinch ground cinnamon
pinch table salt
6 cups fresh blueberries (30 ounces/850 grams), picked over
1 ½ teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Biscuit Topping

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (5 ounces/142 grams)
2 tablespoons cornmeal, stone-ground
¼ cup granulated sugar, plus 2 teaspoons for sprinkling
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon table salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (½ stick), melted
⅓ cup buttermilk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

Filling

½ cup granulated sugar (3 ½ ounces/99 grams)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
pinch ground cinnamon
pinch table salt
6 cups fresh blueberries (30 ounces/850 grams), picked over
1 ½ teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Biscuit Topping

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (5 ounces/142 grams)
2 tablespoons cornmeal, stone-ground
¼ cup granulated sugar, plus 2 teaspoons for sprinkling
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon table salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (½ stick), melted
⅓ cup buttermilk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Test Kitchen Techniques

Why This Recipe Works

Too often, blueberry cobbler means a filling that is too sweet, overspiced, and unappealingly thick. We wanted a not-too-thin, not-too-thick filling where the blueberry flavor would be front and center. And over the fruit, we wanted a light, tender biscuit topping that could hold its own against the fruit filling, with an ingredient list simple enough to allow the blueberries to play a starring role.

We prepared a not-too-sweet filling using 6 cups of fresh berries and less than a cup of sugar. Cornstarch worked well as a thickener—it thickened the fruit’s juice without leaving a starchy texture behind. A little lemon and cinnamon were all that were needed to enhance the filling without masking the blueberry flavor. For the topping, ease of preparation was our guiding principle, so we made light, rustic drop biscuits enriched with a little cornmeal. Adding the biscuit topping to the cobbler after the filling had baked on its own allowed the biscuits to brown evenly and cook through. A sprinkling of cinnamon sugar on the dropped biscuit dough added a pleasing sweet crunch.

Before You Begin

While the blueberries are baking, prepare the ingredients for the biscuit topping, but do not stir the wet into the dry ingredients until just before the berries come out of the oven. A standard or deep-dish 9-inch pie pan works well; an 8-inch-square baking dish can also be used. Vanilla ice cream or lightly sweetened whipped cream is the perfect accompaniment. To reheat leftovers, put the cobbler in a 350-degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until heated through.

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. for the filling

  3. Stir sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt together in large bowl. Add berries and mix gently with rubber spatula until evenly coated; add lemon zest and juice and mix to combine. Transfer berry mixture to 9-inch glass pie pan, place pie pan on rimmed baking sheet, and bake until filling is hot and bubbling around edges, about 25 minutes.
  4. for the biscuit topping

  5. Whisk flour, cornmeal, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl to combine. Whisk melted butter, buttermilk, and vanilla in small bowl. Mix remaining 2 teaspoons sugar and cinnamon in second small bowl and set aside. One minute before berries come out of the oven, add wet ingredients to dry ingredients; stir with rubber spatula until just combined and no dry pockets remain.
  6. to assemble and bake cobbler

  7. Remove berries from oven; increase oven temperature to 425 degrees. Pinch off 8 equal-sized pieces biscuit dough and place on hot berry filling, spacing them at least 1/2 inch apart (they should not touch). Sprinkle each mound of dough with cinnamon-sugar. Bake until filling is bubbling and biscuits are golden brown on top and cooked through, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool cobbler on wire rack 20 minutes and serve.

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