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Skillet Cherry Cobbler

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on August 11, 2009

Yield

Serves 6

Skillet Cherry Cobbler

Ingredients

Biscuit Topping

1 ½ cups (7 ½ ounces/213 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour 5 tablespoons granulated sugar 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder ¼ teaspoon baking soda ¼ teaspoon salt ¾ cup buttermilk 4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Cherry Filling

¾ - 1 cup (5 ¼ to 7 ounces/149 - 198 grams) granulated sugar 3 tablespoons cornstarch Pinch salt 2 (24 ounces/680 grams) jars Morello cherries, drained (about 4 cups cherries), with 2 cups juice reserved½ teaspoon vanilla extract 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar (see note)

Before You Begin

The amount of sugar you use will depend on the sweetness of your cherries; if they are very sweet, use the smaller amount of sugar given. We prefer the crunchy texture of turbinado sugar sprinkled over the biscuits before baking, but regular granulated sugar can be substituted.

Instructions

    for the biscuit topping

  1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 400 degrees. Whisk the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl. Stir in the buttermilk and melted butter until a dough forms. Cover and set aside until needed.
  2. for the cherry filling

  3. Whisk the granulated sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a 12-inch ovenproof skillet. Whisk in the reserved cherry juice and vanilla. Set the skillet over medium-high heat and cook, whisking frequently, until the ­mixture simmers and is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the cherries.
  4. Using a spoon, scoop and drop 1-inch pieces of the dough, spaced about 1/2 inch apart, over the cherry filling in the skillet, then sprinkle with the turbinado sugar. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake the cobbler until the biscuits are golden brown and the filling is thick and glossy, 25 to 30 minutes.
  5. Using a potholder (the skillet handle will be hot), remove the skillet from the oven. Let the cobbler cool in the skillet for at least 15 minutes before serving.
Skillet Cherry Cobbler

Skillet Cherry Cobbler

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By America's Test Kitchen
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Yield

Serves 6

Ingredients

Biscuit Topping

1 ½ cups (7 ½ ounces/213 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup buttermilk
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Cherry Filling

¾ - 1 cup (5 ¼ to 7 ounces/149 - 198 grams) granulated sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
Pinch salt
2 (24 ounces/680 grams) jars Morello cherries, drained (about 4 cups cherries), with 2 cups juice reserved
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons turbinado sugar (see note)

Ingredients

Biscuit Topping

1 ½ cups (7 ½ ounces/213 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup buttermilk
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Cherry Filling

¾ - 1 cup (5 ¼ to 7 ounces/149 - 198 grams) granulated sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
Pinch salt
2 (24 ounces/680 grams) jars Morello cherries, drained (about 4 cups cherries), with 2 cups juice reserved
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons turbinado sugar (see note)

Ingredients

Biscuit Topping

1 ½ cups (7 ½ ounces/213 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup buttermilk
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Cherry Filling

¾ - 1 cup (5 ¼ to 7 ounces/149 - 198 grams) granulated sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
Pinch salt
2 (24 ounces/680 grams) jars Morello cherries, drained (about 4 cups cherries), with 2 cups juice reserved
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons turbinado sugar (see note)

Why This Recipe Works

For convenience, and for their delicious acidity, we chose jarred Morello cherries, plump, meaty, and tart, for our cherry cobbler recipe. We reserved the juice and combined it with cornstarch in the skillet to thicken the filling, adding sugar and vanilla for sweetness and heightened cherry flavor. By fully cooking the sauce on the stove, we could shorten the baking time and avoid burning the topping. We wanted a biscuit topping for our cherry cobbler recipe that would be light but also browned and crisp, so we replaced eggs with buttermilk to give the biscuits a lighter texture, and added it to a standard mix that also included all-purpose flour, baking powder and soda, sugar, and salt.

Before You Begin

The amount of sugar you use will depend on the sweetness of your cherries; if they are very sweet, use the smaller amount of sugar given. We prefer the crunchy texture of turbinado sugar sprinkled over the biscuits before baking, but regular granulated sugar can be substituted.

Instructions

    for the biscuit topping

  1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 400 degrees. Whisk the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl. Stir in the buttermilk and melted butter until a dough forms. Cover and set aside until needed.
  2. for the cherry filling

  3. Whisk the granulated sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a 12-inch ovenproof skillet. Whisk in the reserved cherry juice and vanilla. Set the skillet over medium-high heat and cook, whisking frequently, until the ­mixture simmers and is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the cherries.
  4. Using a spoon, scoop and drop 1-inch pieces of the dough, spaced about 1/2 inch apart, over the cherry filling in the skillet, then sprinkle with the turbinado sugar. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake the cobbler until the biscuits are golden brown and the filling is thick and glossy, 25 to 30 minutes.
  5. Using a potholder (the skillet handle will be hot), remove the skillet from the oven. Let the cobbler cool in the skillet for at least 15 minutes before serving.

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