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Blueberry Cobbler with Gingered Biscuits

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on August 22, 2007

Time

1½ hours, plus 20 minutes cooling

Yield

Serves 6 to 8

Blueberry Cobbler with Gingered Biscuits

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 stone-ground cornmeal 3 tablespoons minced crystallized ginger ¼ 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 ginger

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 filling.

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, crystallized ginger, 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 ground ginger 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 ginger-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 with Gingered Biscuits

Blueberry Cobbler with Gingered Biscuits

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By America's Test Kitchen
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Time

1½ 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 stone-ground cornmeal
3 tablespoons minced crystallized ginger
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 ginger

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 stone-ground cornmeal
3 tablespoons minced crystallized ginger
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 ginger

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 stone-ground cornmeal
3 tablespoons minced crystallized ginger
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 ginger

Test Kitchen Techniques

Why This Recipe Works

We discovered that no-fuss drop biscuits and an unconventional baking method were the keys to a speedy, intensely flavored cobbler recipe. For our cobbler recipe, we prepared a not-too-sweet filling using 6 cups of fresh berries and only 1/2 cup of sugar. Then we made light and rustic drop biscuits, and added them to the cobbler after the filling had baked on its own for 25 minutes This technique allowed the biscuits to brown evenly and cook through.

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 filling.

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, crystallized ginger, 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 ground ginger 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 ginger-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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